Isabelle & Sly
by Jjmt
Summary: Isabelle has always been by Sly's side, but not like she would've wanted. He sees her as a friend, but she thinks of Sly as something more. What will happen between them when Sly's amnesia is revealed to a certain inspector of Interpol? Has fate finally granted Isabelle the chance to truly be with Sly or is it just a cruel illusion, waiting to be snatched away by the unfair world?
1. Prologue

Prologue: Their shared past

 **So this is just a little prologue/teaser to a story I'll be updating completely randomly, so don't expect any more chapters any soon... unless I get eager to update. My new OC ,Isabelle, is a raccoon. Her fur is darker than Sly's and her tail has two darker rings on it. She is a little shorter than Sly. Her hair is as black as a raven's feathers and her eyes are deep blue. There's a scar going across her left eye, but she covers it with her hair at all times.**

 **!ATTENTION! THE COVER IMAGE OF THE STORY ISN'T ISABELLE. IT'S JUST THE BEST PICTURE I WAS ABLE TO FIND.**

 **Izzy's POV**

It was just another boring, rainy and all in all _dismal_ evening in the Happy Camper's orphanage. I was walking down the dimly lit hallway towards the entrance hall. Mrs. Puffin had ordered everyone to get there. No one knew why, but there was no disagreeing with that crone. I sneered even at the thought of the horrible woman.

I myself have my own personal reasons to hate her, even more than an average orphan here. She knew my family, especially the one person I hate even more than her, my father. Mrs. Puffin once said to me that she had always known he was up to no good and as much as I hated it, she was right. So, we didn't like each other, at all.

My father on the other hand is an alcoholic. He's the very reason I am in this hellhole. Funny, how one day can so easily shatter the life of a normal seven-year-old...

 _Flashback..._

 _I was happily walking home from school. My little sister had left early, complaining that she felt sick. I knew she wasn't really sick, but we had a mutual agreement for covering for each other, so I went with it and when the teacher had asked, I just said that she had said something about not feeling well in the morning as well._

 _"Mom! I'm home!" I called from the door._

 _"Mom?" I asked again when no one answered._

 _"Isabelle? Is that you?" came a sweet sounding voice from the kitchen._

 _I immediately recognized my father's drunken voice and tensed._

"What is he doing here?" _I thought, scared now._

 _My parents had divorced two years ago due to my father's growing drinking problem. A year ago he'd come back to our house. He had been drunk that time too and we didn't let him in. He had refused to leave until he'd gotten to talk to us._ _He had slammed himself against the door and that was when we'd called the police. They'd come in minutes and took him away. The next day we had a restraining order made and everyone assured that he wouldn't trouble us anymore._

 _But he was here now. I slowly walked towards the kitchen door..._

 _I screamed. I screamed like I've never screamed before._

 _There, on the floor, in a pool of blood, lay my mother. She had one of our knives buried in her chest and she was bruised and beaten._

 _Then I screamed again._

 _Behind my father was my little sister. Laying, completely motionless. I knew she was dead or at least close for she didn't breathe nor did she move._

 _"Shut up, you little brat!" my father snapped and slashed at me with another knife._

 _Time seemed to slow down as I tried desperately to jump away. But I wasn't fast enough..._

 _He hit my left eye and I screamed for the third time. I stumbled back and ran._

 _I ran from the kitchen, from the house and straight to our neighbor's house. I pounded my little fist to the door until they opened it. I jumped in as soon as the door opened enough and closed it immediately._

 _I heard a gasp and then s_ _omeone gently gripped my shoulders._

 _"Izzy, Izzy! What's wrong?" came an alarmed voice of our neighbor's wife._

 _I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out._

 _She gently stroked my cheek and I found my voice again._

 _"Quickly! Lock the door! My father... he... he's coming!" I whimpered._

 _Her eyes widened and she quickly locked the door._

 _"John!" she shouted._

 _Her husband was there in a second and apparently, something in her wife's tone had alarmed him because he was holding a shotgun. He was a soldier._

 _"Izzy? Mary, what going on?" he asked._

 _"Her father is coming. I'll call the police, just make sure he doesn't get in" she told him and ran off._

 _"Izzy, follow Mary. You better not see this" John said._

 _I only nodded and quickly ran after Mary._

Flashback end...

From there on, everything is just one blur. I can't recall anything. Just some bits and pieces, like the police hauling my father off, taking me to hospital, falling asleep in there, waking up and finding someone asking questions about the whole thing.

A week later they'd let me out from the hospital and I was sent to the orphanage. Another week later, my mother and sister's funeral was held. Mary had come with me and I'd cried the whole time. She had brought my little possessions that she'd gotten from our house. After that, I never saw her again.

It's been a year now and I'm slowly getting over it. I don't cry myself to sleep anymore and I can smile again, not that there'd be much to smile in here.

I was now in the entrance hall, watching all the commotion. Everyone was asking everyone "what's going on?", "Why are we here?".

Mrs. Puffin walked in and everyone shut up immediately.

"We have a new kid here today" she announced and turned to her office's door, "Come on now, don't be shy" she beckoned.

Everyone's eyes snapped to headmistress's office door.

Out walked a raccoon kid, about the same age as me. His tail had three rings on it and it swayed back and forth behind him. He was taller than me, but a little scrawny. He was wearing a blue shirt with yellow cuffs and collar. He had brown trousers and on his head was blue peasant cap that was too big for him. He looked like most of us on our first day: Broken, sad and completely detached from this world.

"Introduce yourself" Mrs. Puffin commanded.

The raccoon winced a little, but nodded.

"My name is Sly Cooper, my parents are dead" he told bluntly in an emotionless voice.

His gaze, which until now had been on the ground, rose and met my eyes. They were warm chocolate brown, but the sadness that radiated from them made them dull and empty. I smiled a little and waved at him.

To my surprise, he smiled back. Very little, but smiled nonetheless.

 _"Most of us can't smile in weeks"_ I thought.

"Isabelle!" Mrs. Puffin said.

I snapped out from my thoughts and looked at her.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You're going to share your room with him" she announced.

I was about to object, but then I saw that Sly was looking at me with hopeful eyes. Something in those brown orbs just made my resistance melt away and I nodded and said: "Sure"

Everyone looked at me with confused glances, even Mrs. Puffin. I never agreed to have anyone share a room with me and the few times they tried, ended badly. My every roommate was out in a week and even Mrs. Puffin couldn't get them to come back. So, until now, I'd never willingly offered to share my room with anyone.

Sly smiled again, this time wider and his eyes lit up just a bit. I smiled at him and beckoned him to follow me. He glanced at Mrs. Puffin, but she'd already walked back to her office. He shrugged and walked to me. I offered my hand for him to shake and he took it.

"Hi, I'm Isabelle Solus. Nice to meet you" I said.

"I'm Sly, but you already know that" he joked, again surprising me, "It's nice to meet you too"

The other children stared at us bonding and I could hear a few silent gasps. I didn't really have any friends here. You could say I was a little antisocial.

"Come on, let's go" I said and pulled his hand.

I lead him to my, well... our room and I noticed that his things were already there. There was a small backpack and some sort of stick with a golden hook in the end.

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's a... tool that my family has designed for our... um, family business" Sly stammered.

"And what exactly is your family business?" I inquired, cocking a brow.

"We've been at it for some... millenniums" he answered, clearly trying to avoid the question.

It worked, though.

"Millenniums!?" I asked, incredulous, "How is that possible?"

"Well, the heritage has been passed on pretty well... I guess" Sly replied unsurely, rubbing the back of his head.

"But what is the heritage?"

His ears and tail drooped. I felt bad for saying anything.

"What is it?" I asked softly.

"I don't have my heritage anymore. It was stolen by... the same people who... who... _killed my parents_ " he explained, breaking into tears.

I surprised myself by hugging him tightly. I felt strange, but... good. Something about him made me feel... different. Better than in the year I've been here.

Sly brought his hands around me and squeezed. His crying turned to sobs and after a while the sobs subsided and he let go.

"I'm sorry" he sniffled.

"Don't be" I whispered, grabbing his hand.

He looked at our joined hands and blushed a little. I smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze.

"I know how you feel" I whispered.

"You do?" Sly asked, sounding surprised.

I just nodded.

Sly gave me hand a light squeeze.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

I bit my lip.

 _"Do I want to talk about it?"_ I asked from myself.

"Maybe later" I finally replied, quietly.

"Ok" Sly replied.

He didn't appear to be sad or disappointed by my reply, actually it sounded like he understood completely why I didn't want to talk about it.

 _"He does"_ I realized.

He smiled at me again and I smiled back.

Suddenly, our moment was broken by a loud ring of a bell and then Mrs. Puffin's voice echoed through the hallways: "Time to get ready for bed!"

"There's the bathroom. Do you wanna go first?" I asked, pointing at the door in my room.

"You have your own bathroom?" Sly asked incredulously.

I giggled. I actually _did_ have my own bathroom.

"Yeah, it's my own or technically I'm supposed to let anyone who wants to use it come here if they need to, but my reputation tends to keep everyone away" I explained.

"But how can you still have your own bathroom?" Sly wondered, "And what reputation?" he continued, somewhat suspiciously.

"I got lucky. When I came here the orphanage was almost full, but one of the ladies who worked here retired. This was her office, so it got turned into a room. And being that it's former office, it's also bigger than the other rooms. And as for my reputation..." I gave him slightly cheeky grin, "... I have a reputation as a troublemaker"

Sly grinned back. His grin full of mischief.

"I think we're gonna get along just fine. We're gonna be best friends!" he declared.

I was slightly surprised, but happy. It was odd that we'd got this close so quickly, but I found that I didn't really care.

"Pinkie promise?" I asked, bringing my little finger to him.

He hooked his own little finger to mine.

"Pinkie promise"

Once we unhooked out fingers I grabbed a towel and threw it at him.

"You go first"

"No, you go first" he insisted.

I raised a brow.

"Why?"

"My dad..." his ears drooped, "... always told me to let the lady go first"

"But you're the guest, so I must let you go first" I remarked.

"Well, technically, I'm your roommate" he amended.

"Yeah, but you only just arrived"

He tried to think of something to say, but couldn't come up with anything.

"Fine, I'll go first"

I gave him a triumphant smile and he just rolled his eyes. Sly took the towel and walked into the bathroom. He showered, brushed his teeth and changed into his nightwear. He came out and I went in to do the same things.

When I came out he was already lying on his bed, eyes closed, back against the wall. I climbed to my own bed and wrapped the covers around me tightly and curved into a ball.

"Good night, Sly" I muttered, not expecting a response.

"Good night, _Izzy_ " he replied, pronouncing the new nickname somewhat cheekily.

"Izzy?" I asked.

He opened his eyes and grinned at me.

"It's easier to say than 'Isabelle'" he shrugged.

I laughed, but at the same time I thought: _"We've only known for one evening and he's already given me a nickname"_

I decided that I liked the name.

 _"I need to think one for him... hmm..."_ I pondered different ideas.

The problem was that I didn't know him well enough yet. My gaze wandered off to him and I saw that he had turned his back on me. Then, my gaze snapped to his tail that was sticking from beneath the covers. I noticed that it had three darker rings instead of two. We raccoons usually have only two rings...

 _"Hmm..."_

My eyes finally lit up as I came up with a perfect nickname.

"Well, good night then... _Ringtail_ "

He turned back to me, laughing.

" _Ringtail?_ " he asked, emphasizing the word.

"What? It's a good name!" I exclaimed, "It suits you because you have three rings on your tail. Normally raccoons have only two" I explained. (This is not true BTW)

His laughter stopped suddenly and he looked at me oddly.

"Really?"

I nodded.

Sly looked at his tail.

"I didn't know that" he said, "My dad had three as well"

His ears drooped again at the mention of his father.

"Oh" I said.

He laughed to break the awkward silence that'd fallen upon us.

"Well... good night" Sly said again and closed his eyes.

"Good night" I said and closed my eyes too.

I felt strange again, but good kind of strange. I felt that I had found a good friend. And somehow, I just knew that we would always be together and have each others' backs. We would never fight or anything like that and I would never be mad at him...

 **So, I hope you liked this chapter. There's more coming someday, maybe even tomorrow or maybe it'll stretch to next year. Who knows? Review and stuff...**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: 15 years later

 **Now, no one panic! I just did a jump of 15 years, meaning that this all is past Sly 1, 2 and 3. Sly isn't faking his amnesia with Carmelita _anymore_ and he has returned to his gang. If you want to know what has happened in these past fifteen years, don't worry! I will explain everything in flashbacks. There will be at least one in every chapter and probably more. This first flashback I just added from the prologue for reasons never to be revealed. Also, about the POV: I'll try not to make it confusing and I try to keep on Izzy's POV and change it only sometimes to get the story flow better. I do hope that it works to that end.**

 _Flashback..._

 _I felt strange again, but good kind of strange. I felt that I had found a good friend. And somehow, I just knew that we would always be together and have each others' backs. We would never fight or anything like that and I would never be mad at him..._

* * *

 **Izzy's POV**

I was _so_ mad at him! He was just standing there with that stupid smirk on his face, just assuming that we'd welcome him back with open arms after what he did.

He left me... us! Abandoned his gang, his _family!_ Oh, he's not gonna get away with this one!

"I-Izzy?" he asked.

He sounded scared. Well, he better be!

"What?" I spat, making him flinch.

"I said I'm sorry" Sly repeated quietly.

Sorry? He is _sorry?_

"Do you think that'll fix everything!?" I shouted, again making him flinch, "Do you think that simple 'sorry' will erase everything _you_ have done?!"

I was all but screaming at him for good ten minutes until I had gotten everything out. When I was done, he was literally cowering in the corner. I turned on my heels and marched back to my room, not sparing another look at the damn raccoon.

I slammed the door to my room close to give him the message of not trying to talk to me. I walked over to my bed, collapsed on it and wept silently. I involuntarily began thinking about the whole ordeal. How Sly faked his amnesia to get together with Carmelita. He had been an officer, he had given everything up for her. His gang, his life and... me. It made me so mad.

It broke my heart. It broke it like nothing ever before. Not even my mother's and sister's deaths had broken my heart that much.

"Knock, Knock" echoed from my door.

I growled at the sound. Getting of my bed, I wiped my tears away and walked to open the door. I hoped against hope that it wasn't the one I thought it was...

"What!?" I shouted as I yanked the door open.

He stood there, looking miserable.

 _"Good!"_ I thought as I glared at his pitiful face.

"Izzy... I am really sorry-" he started.

"And I already told you that just 'sorry' isn't enough!" I snapped and made a move to close the door.

He grabbed it with his hand and quickly slid inside and closed the door behind him.

"Get out" I growled.

"Don't be like that" he pleaded, "You of all people know that I've always been in love with Carmelita and-" he never finished that sentence.

"I SAID, GET OUT!" I screamed.

I grabbed his face and in one quick motion opened the door and pushed him out of the room. In my rage I used so much force that he fell backwards and hit his head to the floor, but I didn't feel bad about it.

"And _stay_ out!" I snarled and slammed the door close again.

 **Quick Sly's POV**

She threw me out like some beggar from the streets and slammed the door in my face. It made me feel very depressed, knowing that I couldn't even get to apologize to her anymore. It tore me inside to know that I'd caused her so much pain, because believe me, Izzy was in pain, even if she didn't show it. I could hear her silently crying in her room.

Suddenly, I felt large hand press on my back and another, much smaller one, landed on my shoulder. I looked up to see my two other childhood friends smiling sadly at me.

My gaze dropped again and my ears drooped.

"I'm sorry" I whispered to them.

"We know" Bentley replied, "And we forgive you"

Murray yanked me from the ground without warning and crushed me in one of his bear hugs. He didn't say anything, but his embrace said it all. He forgave me too.

"I missed you guys" I wheezed.

Murray put me down and sniffled and wiped his eyes.

"We missed you too, Sly" he said and bearhugged me again.

After that, we went to do what any guys would after being separated for such a long time: We went to play video games.

 **Izzy's POV**

Two hours later...

I was still crying in my room, refusing to come out and face Sly. I was still mad at him, but my stupid brain had worked everything out and told me that I had no right to be angry at him for trying to be happy. And that my reasons were selfish and that I should forgive him. But I didn't want to! I wanted to be angry at him for leaving me. I loved him, but he still left.

 _"But he couldn't have known that. You never told him that"_ my brains reasoned.

"Ugh" I grunted.

I heard the guys playing something, they were laughing and joking like nothing had happened. How could they be like that? How can Bentley and Murray just forgive him like that?

Again, my oh-so-helpful brain provided the answer: _"They were happy when Sly was happy, even if it meant that he left them. They knew Sly would do the same if it was either of them"_

"Ugh" I grunted again.

 _"We are all a family, we, a bunch of outcasts"_ my brain forced me to listen, _"Do you still remember...?"_

 _Flashback..._

 _Sly and I were in sir Raleigh's fortress's entrance, trying to find the first treasure key. We were also keeping an eye out for the little green bottles that Bentley had told us to find._

 _"There's another one" Sly said, pointing a bottle on top of spotlight tower._

 _"Race ya there?" I suggested._

 _"You got it!" he exclaimed, taking off._

 _"Hey! No fair!" I yelled and sprinted after him._

 _I heard his laugh. He was already climbing to another spotlight tower that had a wire going to the tower with the bottle. It was clear that I wouldn't make it there before him, so I just sat on a rock and waited for him to come back and give me that arrogant smirk of his that I loved._

 _Sly was back in a minute and I watched that grin of his with slightly dreamy expression. I absolutely loved it!_

 _"Uh... Earth to Izzy" he said, waving a hand in front of my face._

 _My trance vanished along with his smirk and I blinked._

 _"I'm sorry, did you say something?"_

 _"I said that this was the last clue and the code is 7-9-2 and you're sitting on the safe"_

 _I blinked again and looked down. I saw that under me was indeed a large safe. It's metal surface was wet and it had some moss on it, making it very easy to be mistaken as a rock._

 _"Oh... Well, what are you waiting for? Input the code!" I said excitedly._

 _He did as was told and input the code. The safe opened. Inside of it was a page of a book._

 _"It's a page from the Thievius Raccoonus!" Sly exclaimed right after he saw it._

 _He took it gently from the small pedestal and left a calling card in its place._

 _"Come on, let's get somewhere more sheltered so that we can read it" he said._

 _I raised a brow upon hearing him saying "we", but said nothing and just followed him to small cave nearby._

 _"Do you have a flashlight?" he asked._

 _I took a small, key chain kind of flashlight from my pocket and turned it on. I pointed the light to the page and let Sly read it in peace._

 _"It's the Fast Dive Attack by Drake Cooper. It can be used to knock out guards" he explained._

 _Then he did something that shocked me. He extended his hand and handed the page to me._

 _"Why are you giving it to me?" I asked, confused._

 _"For reading of course" he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world._

 _"But... why? It's your family's secret technique" I replied, even more confused._

"Isabelle"

 _A shiver passed through me. Sly almost never called me by my real name..._

 _"You are my family and I want to share the secrets with you" he said._

Flashback end...

"You are my family and I want to share the secrets with you" I repeated in a whisper,

That's what he had said.

"Knock, Knock" came from the door.

I was startled out of my thoughts.

There was another knock and then a voice asked: "Izzy, can I come in?"

It was Sly. I thought for a millisecond before deciding that maybe I should listen to him.

"Yeah" I said.

The door opened slowly, as if he was waiting for me to attack him or something. He walked in and laid his eyes on me.

He closed the door.

"Izzy, I'm sor-"

"Come here, Sly" I cut him off.

He looked at me and blinked.

"What?"

"Come here" I repeated and patted the empty space in my bed.

He watched me for a second before walking up to my bed and laying down next to me. He continued to watch me and neither of us said anything.

Then, very slowly, I brought my hands around him and pulled myself against him tightly.

And I broke.

My eyes welled up in tears and I buried my face in his chest. I could feel that he was stunned for a moment, but soon his arms wrapped around me and squeezed hard.

I don't know how long we were like that.

"I missed you" I sobbed.

"I'm sorry" he whispered.

"I was alone. I haven't felt so alone since my mother and sister died"

We tightened our grips on each other. Sly's hand gently stroked my back.

"Don't ever leave me like that again, Sly"

"I won't. I promise, I won't"

We stayed like that for what felt like forever to me. I listened to his heartbeat. The sound was so relaxing and it soon calmed me down.

"Isabelle" Sly whispered and distanced himself from me, so that he could see my face, "I'm sorry"

"I forgive you, Sly" I whispered.

He brought his hand to my face and dried the tears from my right eye. The hand moved to my left eye and gently began to move the hair from in front of the scarred eye.

"Don't" I whispered, taking his hand.

"You don't have to be ashamed of it, Isabelle" he said.

"I don't want you to see it. I hate it. It makes my face ugly"

"No, it doesn't" Sly said with firmness that surprised me, "It doesn't make you any less beautiful"

I was speechless. He had never called me beautiful, not like this. I let go of his hand and let him remove the hair to reveal my marred eye. He wiped the tears away, but didn't pull the hair back to cover it.

"You think I'm beautiful?" I asked with incredulity.

"I think you're very beautiful" he whispered.

I didn't know what to say, so I hugged him again.

"Thank you, Sly. I l-" I snapped my mouth shut before those words could escape my lips.

But he noticed it.

"You what?" he asked.

"I love it when you call me beautiful" I quickly mumbled.

It wasn't a total lie. I did love it, but it wasn't exactly what I would've wanted to say.

"You're beautiful" he whispered again.

I snuggled deeper into him upon hearing that.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you and... throwing you like that" I apologized.

"Don't be. You had every reason to act like you did"

"But still-"

"No. It was my fault. I should've never left you guys"

"You weren't happy with Carmelita?" I was very curious about this.

"I was for a moment, but then I realized that she didn't really love me for me. She loved Constable Cooper, her partner in police force. But she didn't love Sly Cooper. That's why I told her the truth and that's why I came back. I trusted that I could always come back to my family..."

I smiled. I know I shouldn't have, but I felt happy. All this meant that he wouldn't go back to her and maybe, just _maybe,_ I could finally tell him how I feel. I could finally tell him that I love him.

Suddenly, Sly unwrapped his arms around me and sat up. I realized that he was going to leave. I didn't want that, I wanted him to stay.

He stood up, but I reached out and grabbed his hand. He stopped and turned to look at me. His eyes brimming with question.

"Please don't go. Stay with me" I pleaded.

He smiled, a real smile, not one of those smirks he liked to throw around.

I pulled him back and made him lay next to me. My arms found their way around him again as did his around me.

"Good night, _Ringtail_ "

"Good night, Isabelle"

 **Whew! I hope you liked this 'cause I can tell ya that this wasn't easy to write. Review and stuff...**


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Their time together and a heist

 **Chapter two is here and things'll happen... ... ... With these enlightening words, I shall begin the chapter...**

 _Flashback, Muggshot's casino in Mesa City..._

 _Job: Two to Tango_

 ** _Izzy's POV_**

 _Sly and I were climbing to the high rooftops of Mesa City. We were in search of one of Muggshot's seven treasure keys. We were joking around at each others expense until a voice I'd come to hate ruined our fun..._

 _"Well, well, well... look who just walked into my crosshairs Sly Cooper and his_ bitch!" _Carmelita spat._

 _I grit my teeth and glared at her. Sly ignored the comment, as he always did, and put on the trademark Ladies' Man grin._

 _"About time you showed up Ms. Fox. Was-"_

 _But I cut him off: "You're the_ whore _who always follows him everywhere!_ "

 _"Shut up, scarface!"_

 _My eyes widened and I heard Sly quietly gasping next to me. At least something got to him as well..._

 _"What did you just call me?" I asked threa_ teningly.

 _"I called you scarface! You're face is foul and distorted! No man is ever going to look at you!" Carmelita derided._

 _Sly was all but gaping at the vixen. He new that the scar was a touchy subject for me. I on the other hand was infuriated. She didn't know anything about me and how I got this scar! She had no right to talk about me like that!_

 _"I am gonna show you distorted!" I shouted and ran towards the vixen._

 _Carmelita shot at me, but I dodged in time, kicked the pistol out of her hand and tackled her to the ground. She fought back and tried to flip us over to get the upper hand, but I didn't let her. I pressed her against the ground, effectively pinning her down._

 _My hand rose, ready to claw her face._

 _"You're gonna see the very definition of 'distorted' in the mirror every morning!" I hissed._

 _Her expression changed to one of worry. She tried to squirm, but to no avail. It made me feel good, knowing that the arrogant vixen was at my mercy._ _I was just about to bring my hand down on her face when my wrist was caught in someone's grip._

 _My head whipped around._

 _Sly was there, holding my wrist and regarding me with sorrowful eyes. I knew he felt bad for me, but I didn't care about that at the moment. All I wanted was to make the damn fox pay for what she'd said._

 _"Let go" I tried yanking my hand free, but his grip was firm._

 _"No. Don't do this, Izzy"_

 _"Why not?! She deserves it!" I shouted, trying to yank my hand free again._

 _"We have a job to do. Come on"_

 _He did something I wasn't quite prepared for: Sly pulled me off of Carmelita and threw me over his shoulder, making me I squeal in surprise._

 _"What are you doing!? Let me down, you idiot!" I screamed._

 _"Sorry, can't do that! We need the key! There's no time for your bickering!" he called back, avoiding Carmelita's shots._

 _"Argh!"_

 _I was so angry at him for doing this that just out of impulse I grabbed his tail and sunk my teeth into it._

 _"AAH! Izzy, stop!" he exclaimed._

 _"Not until you put me down!"_

 _"Just stay still until I lose Carmelita, dammit!"_

 _That surprised me. Sly almost never swore, but I still smacked his tail and shouted:_

 _"Move it then!"_

 _Losing Carmelita was relatively easy. Sure, she was a good cop, but when it came to running, me and Sly were the masters, even if he did the running this time. When we were sure that it was safe, Sly finally put me down._

 _"Why-!" I started shouting, but Sly clapped a hand over my mouth._

 _"Shh! We don't need her finding us again" he snapped. I could tell that he was upset with me biting his tail and all..._

 _It all came crashing down on me. I had actually bitten his tail. Now, I felt bad for it. I knew from personal experience that his tail was very sensitive. I'd accidentally shut a door on his tail few times..._

 _I brought my hand to the one that was on my mouth and gently removed it. I held it in mine, but Sly didn't look at me._

 _"Hey,_ i'm sowwyyyy _" I said with puppy dog eyes._

 _He turned his gaze to me, his face devoid of emotion. I got scared that he was really upset about his tail and it made me panic slightly._ _I held his gaze, but his expression remained stony and now it was making me freak out._

 _Suddenly, he burst out laughing and threw an arm around me._

 _"Oh, Izzy, I'm not mad at you" he laughed, "But you just look so cute when you're slowly panicking"_

 _My eyes rolled to the ceiling, but he just continued laughing._

 _"Idiot" I muttered._

 _I was really happy that he wasn't angry and all in all everything went really well. Sly wasn't mad and after our little fight, Carmelita never called me scarface again..._

* * *

 **Sly's POV**

I felt something warm pressing against me before my were even open. A pair of arms was woven tightly around me and the sound of even breathing filled my ears.

 _"Isabelle"_ I remembered.

My eyes opened and the first thing I saw was the raven black hair of my partner in crime. They gave off the familiar scent I'd grown so used to. I looked down at us and from what I could see, we were still in the same positions we'd fallen asleep last night. I carefully detached myself from her, but only enough to see her face.

I've never noticed how beautiful she is.

I don't know how I have missed it! We'd stuck together for 15 years and I never noticed it. Even the scar running across her eye didn't diminish the beauty of her angelic face. I gently ran my finger along the mark.

 _"What kind of a monster was her father to do something like this?"_ I thought sadly.

"Sly..."

I was returned to the present by Izzy mumbling my name.

"Izzy?"

"Sly... don't go..." she mumbled.

"Izzy, I'm right here"

Her face scrunched and it was only by then I realized that she was still asleep.

"No... don't leave me... _you promised..._ "

The last bit broke my heart. I _did_ promise and I wasn't going to go back on it.

"Izzy, wake up!" I exclaimed, giving her a shake.

She began wriggling and mumbling incoherent things.

"Isabelle!"

Her eyes snapped open with a loud gasp.

"Izzy!"

Her head whirled in my direction.

"Sly!" she exclaimed and almost threw herself at me.

I wrapped my arms around her firmly and held her there. She cried silently to my shirt and clung to me... just like last night.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

She nodded.

"What was it about?"

"You... you left me"

Her crying got worse.

"I was alone... in the dark and then..." she stopped.

"You don't have to tell me" I whispered, rubbing her back.

"... then, I saw my father... He came at me wi-with a knife in his hand... and... and..."

"Shh" I hushed, "He can't get to you and I will never leave you again"

Then I did something that surprised the hell out of me and apparently Isabelle too. Just out of impulse, I gave her a kiss on the forehead. I'd never done that before, but it felt good and... right.

Her sobbing stopped abruptly. She pulled back to look at me. Our gazes locked and we stared into each other's eyes for a long moment.

"I'm sorry, I am like this" she finally whispered, breaking the silence "This all is just... getting to me. I've had a lot of nightmares recently"

"I understand. You don't have to be sorry"

She leant back against me and I held her there.

"Sly?" I heard her whisper.

"Hmh?"

"I'm so happy you're back"

"It's good to be back"

I heard her give a slight laugh.

"Could we just stay like this for the rest of the day?" Izzy asked.

I chuckled and shook my head.

"I'm afraid Bentley has something planned for the evening, but otherwise we aren't in a hurry"

"What's that?"

"A heist"

 **Izzy's POV**

"What's that?" I asked, separating us just enough to see him.

I watched as his brown eyes lit up.

"A heist"

He sounded excited, like a child in Christmas morning. The time with Carmelita had probably been rather... heistless for him.

"A heist?" I asked, almost feeling my eyes mirroring the shine in his.

"Bentley told us that there will be a slideshow" Sly said, "Man, I've missed his shows. Interpol briefings weren't nearly as good"

I laughed at the comment.

"He does have a flair for dramatics in his slideshows"

Now it was his turn to laugh, but I soon joined him and we laughed away together.

"Sly?"

"Hmh?"

"Do you want to tell me... how you told Carmelita about your 'amnesia'?" I asked softly.

He bit his lip. I didn't see his face, but I just knew he did. His silence told me everything and I knew he was thinking about it.

Finally, Sly let out a resigning sigh and talked.

"Ok, this is how it went..."

 _Flashback..._

 _Carmelita's apartment, one week ago, nine o'clock in the evening_

 ** _Sly's POV_**

 _I was walking up the stairs to our apartment. My mind was deep in thought as I was trying to figure the best way to tell Carmelita that I'd faked my amnesia. I knew it wouldn't end well, no matter how I broke the news to her, but it had to be done. I was tired of living a lie._

 _"Carm!" I called from the door._

 _"Sly! You're finally home!" she exclaimed happily, meeting me in our little foyer._

 _She grabbed my shirt and tugged me into a kiss. This was our routine every time we got home and neither of us was getting bored. It always felt just as good._

 _"Yeah, sorry about that. I had to finish off some paper work. Also, the chief tried to get me to stay for even_ more _work_ , _but I politely declined" I told her, after we pulled away, "I think he's onto us"_

 _We hadn't exactly told anyone about us being together and all that, but most of our co-workers had already guessed and gossip was flying around. Literally everyone was talking about "Old Ironsides" and the ex-thief with amnesia. Some were happy for us, although that was the infinitesimal part that included our few friends. The major part either didn't trust me or were just pissed off about the fact that I'd managed too "seduce" Carmelita so easily._

"As if it was easy..." _I thought sarcastically._

 _"What? Are you sure?"_

 _"Pretty sure. His glances are getting a little too knowing"_

 _"Should we tell him?"_

 _"Nah, let the old man think what he wants"_

 _My comment made Carmelita giggle. I still hadn't gotten used to this side of her. She was acting more... girly. In all the years she'd chased me, I had never heard her giggle. The sound was slightly foreign to me, but I loved it nonetheless._

 _I barely had the time to hang up my coat before she pulled me to our living room and onto the couch. We collapsed down on it. She landed on me and we both laughed. Her lips found mine again and pressed tightly against them._

 _She pulled back and whispered "I love you"_

 _I was about to reply, but the words stuck in my throat and instead I said: "I've got something to tell you"_

 _She cocked a brow and tilted her head questioningly._

 _I sat up and got up on my feet, taking a safe distance from Carmelita and positioning myself between her and the bedroom where I knew the shockpistol was..._

 _She looked worried._

 _"Sly, what is it?"_

 _I said nothing, still trying to find the words._

 _"There's something I need to tell you... and you might not like it..." I said slowly._

 _"You can tell me anything"_

 _Then, I just blurted out something._

 _"If I tell you, will you give me ten seconds again?"_

 _Carmelita staggered backwards like I'd hit her. Her eyes glazed with panic. There was a moment of silence..._

 _"Wh-When did you remember?" she whispered._

 _For a moment, a simple, fleeting moment, I thought how much easier it would be to tell her something like stumbling upon my old case file and remembering everything. But it would be another lie and I didn't want to live in a lie anymore._

 _"I... actually... never... forgot" I said slowly, all the time gauging her reaction._

 _Confusion spread across her face._

 _"What?"_

 _"I..._ lied _" I forced the word "lied" out of my mouth._

 _"You lied?"_

 _My ability to speak seemed to have vanished completely so I just nodded._

 _Another silence followed. She looked at me and I stared right back. I dared to get my hopes up that she would understand._

 _How wrong I was..._

 _"YOU LYING, TREACHEROUS, NO-GOOD..._ **THIEF** _!_ "

 _Now it was my turn to stumble backwards. That outburst really took me by surprise._

 _"Carm, lis-" I tried._

 _"DON'T YOU 'CARM' ME, YOU BASTARD!"_

 _She lunged at me, easily covering the distance between us. Her fist soared through the air towards my face. I snatched it just in time and held it there. She tried to kick me, but I used the momentary imbalance to pin her against the wall. She struggled under my grip, but my hold was tight._

 _"Carmelita! Calm down!"_

 _"Let me go!"_

 _"You'll just try to attack me again"_

 _"You bet I will!"_

 _She continued to struggle._

 _"I'm sorry for lying to you"_

 _"I couldn't care less!"_

 _"You should. I wasn't the only one lying"_

 _"What are you talking about?" she demanded._

 _"Who told me that I'm 'Constable Cooper'? Who_ exploited _my supposed amnesia?"_

 _The realization struck_ me _like shower of ice cold water. She had lied to me back then!_

 _"I was just trying to make something good out of you!" she shouted without thinking._

 _I recoiled and let her go in the process. She spun around to face me, but didn't attack. Her face was angry, not sad of remorseful. Did she even realize what she had just said?  
_

 _"Did you ever love_ me _, Carmelita? Or did you just love 'Constable Cooper'?"_

 _She turned her face away from me and answered:_

 _"I don't know"_

 _I don't know. Those three words echoed in my head, repeating over and over again._

 _"Sly" she said, her voice surprisingly soft, "Let's just forget this happened"_

 _"What?!"_

 _"Let's just continue our lives and forget this. Let's go back to our jobs and-"_

 _"Do you realize what you're asking!?" I snapped._

 _She gaped. I'd never snapped at her before._

 _"I'm asking you to-"_

 _"You're asking me to abandon the legacy my family has passed on for over_ 4000 _years and all that just so 'you could make something good out of me'?!"_

 _Silence fell upon us for the third time. It didn't last long though..._

 _"Then you leave me no choice" Carmelita said blankly._

 _I looked at her with a raised brow._

 _"Sly Cooper, you're under arrest for various crimes! Come peacefully and we might consider shortening your sentence!" she declared._

 _I just rolled my eyes and darted for the window._

 _"Oh no, you don't!"_

 _But I did. She wasn't fast enough to catch me and once I got to the roof, Carmelita quickly fell behind. She also didn't have her shockpistol with her which made it all the more easier for me to escape and her to give up._

 _I knew she had given up when a shout echoed through the Parisian night: "You can't escape justice, e_ _stás un mentiroso hijo de puta_ _" (Supposedly that means "You lying son of a bitch", but Spanish isn't exactly my forté so I used the almighty Google Translate for this...)_

 _I stopped running._

 _The reality of the whole situation sunk in. My knees suddenly felt weak and I fell down, sorrow slowly taking over my now very broken heart. Tears flowed down my face and everything seemed to become darker than moments before._

 _"She never loved me!" I wailed helplessly to the dark skies._

 _Nothing but thunder and torrent answered me. I didn't really care about the rain at that point anymore, so I just wept my grief in the storm..._

Flashback end...

 **Izzy's POV**

Sly's face was filled with pain and tears streamed down his cheeks.

"It hurt... so much... to realize that... she didn't really love _me_ ", he sobbed, "Just the image... of me that... she created"

I brought my hand to his cheek and wiped away some of the tears. My heart ached for the poor raccoon next to me. He looked almost like he had on the first day in the orphanage

"You're with your family now, Sly. We love you for who you are"

I was _so_ close to saying _I_ instead of _we,_ but I didn't.

He didn't reply, just lifted a hand to rest on mine.

"You know, Izzy... I missed you most of all"

I smiled, very widely, hugging him close again and I just _knew_ that he smiled too...

* * *

In the evening...

"Ok, now that our gang is complete again, well except for Penelope, but she'll come back soon. It's time to pull of a heist or two to remind the world that Cooper Gang hasn't vanished" Bentley started his speech.

"That's one way to start a presentation..." Sly quipped sarcastically. I'd missed those comments...

"And where's Penelope?" he continued.

Bentley rolled his eyes, but I saw that he was amused by the comment.

"She returned to Holland to wrap a few things up and she should be back soon, but about the heist"

He pressed a button.

"Our objective is this..." a picture of golden, ornamented and all in all very valuable looking medieval crown appeared on the screen, "... The Crown of the King from the Dark Ages. Its value... immeasurable"

I whistled.

"Where do we get to steal it from?"

"Its owner, our target, is throwing a fancy party and he has the crown displayed there. We'll swipe it from under everyone's noses" as he explained a picture of a male lynx flashed to the screen, "This is him, our target. His name is Marcus Lucas. He's an expert counterfeiter, specializing on money. The whole party is funded with false coin"

"So... where do we start?" Sly asked sounding excited.

I've always thought he's cute when he gets this excited.

"From recon naturally. The party starts tonight at eight o'clock and will go on for three days" Bentley answered, "You and Izzy will sneak in and snap a few picture, but you _must stay out of sight_ " he emphasized.

"Ok, so we have... an hour and a half to get to..." I looked at Bentley questioningly.

"Lucas's house"

"To get to his house, break in, snap a few photos and sneak out"

"That's an accurate summation. I suggest you get going, the place is heavily secured and getting in might take some time. I'll start hacking the security from here" Bentley instructed us.

"Come on, Sly. We have a party to crash!" I called standing up.

I was already at the door when his voice reached my ears.

"Um... Izzy?" I turned around, "You notice something missing?" he asked.

I looked him over. He had his normal thief outfit on, but something was amiss...

"My gear?" he helpfully suggested, "I hope you didn't leave it to the island..."

My eyes lit up and a smile graced my lips.

"Of course we didn't leave it there. Come on, they're here"

I grabbed his arm and dragged him back to my room. There, I threw open my cupboard and picked up a few items.

"Here's your legpouch and binoc-u-com" I said, handing them to him and watching as he strapped the pouch around his left thigh.

"And...?" he asked, drawing out the word.

I walked over to my bed, bent down and took golden hooked cane from under it.

"And here's your cane" I whispered, handing it to him.

Sly's hand rose to grip the dark wood of the cane's hilt. His finger slowly enclosed around his family heirloom. There was something very solemn in his movements and the whole moment.

I watched silently as he ran his hand along the length of the hilt.

"My father's cane..." he mumbled.

Then, he glanced at me.

"Thank you, Isabelle"

I smiled.

"No problem"

I looked him over. With the thief outfit and leg pouch on and the infamous cane in his hand, he looked like himself again. He looked like Sly Cooper, the Master Thief of the time.

"You look good" I blurted out.

He did. Actually, he has always looked good, but I had never said it out loud.

"Why, thank you, Izzy" he smirked and I blushed.

"Now, care to explain as to why exactly did you have my stuff here in your room?" his brow rose and the smirk widened.

My blush intensified. There actually was a reason, but I wasn't going to reveal it to him.

"I just... wanted to make sure... that... um..."

"Yes?" he coaxed, leaning on his cane. (Ya know the pose, right?)

I turned my back on him and sighed.

"I missed you. I just wanted to have a little piece of you with me" I confessed quietly.

I expected a snarky remark or something as Slyish, but nothing ever came. Instead, I found a pair of arms twining around me from behind.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there" he said, his voice laced with sadness.

I put a hand on his cheek. He leant against it. I liked being there in his arms, feeling his soft cheek against my palm.

"It wasn't your fault, Sly" I assured, giving his cheek a little pet.

I felt him nod slightly.

Suddenly, he chuckled.

"What?"

"We sure been hugging a lot recently"

"I don't mind" I said, nuzzling my head on his chin.

I felt him shiver and his hold tighten.

"Neither do I"

A smile spread across my face and I nuzzled him again.

* * *

"How many guests are left?" Sly whined next to me.

"A couple" I replied.

He gave an aggravated sigh.

"That's what you said the last three times"

"And that's what I'm gonna keep saying until every guest has arrived"

His mouth opened to say something again, but I pointed a finger at him without looking.

"Say something and I'll unnerve your jaw" I threatened.

He shut his mouth and with a click of tongue let me know that he was displeased. We continued to observe the arriving guests. We'd hidden on a loft that had good visibility to the entrance hall.

Suddenly I heard a voice:

"Did you hear something?"

Then another:

"Yeah, it came from the loft"

The guards! They'd heard us.

"Sly! The guards..."

But apparently he had heard them too. Sly was on his feet in a second. He ran to the door and peeked to the hallway.

"We can't escape this way. Can we climb from there?"

"No, the guards in the hall will see us" I said, after inspecting the situation.

"We have no choice. We need to take them out, silently and they can't see us"

I nodded and ran to the door. Standing on the both sides of the door, we pressed our backs against the wall and waited for the guards to come. Soon, footsteps echoed from the hallway behind the door and it was pulled open. In the doorway stood two dog guards.

Sly moved quickly. His cane hooked around the first guard's neck and he was yanked against the raccoon. Only a second later, his fist clashed against the guard's crown, rendering him unconscious.

I moved almost instantly after Sly. The second guard had turned to look at Sly's direction and had his back on me. It gave me the perfect opportunity to deliver a few swift and rigorous strikes on the vital neural points in his neck and upper back. The jolts in his nervous system made him fall unconscious as well. He fell next to his comrade.

"I see you haven't lost your touch" Sly smirked.

"I see you haven't either" I smirked back, "We better get out of here before someone notices that two guards are missing"

"Did we get all the shots Bentley wanted?"

"Let's see, the security system and its main terminal, guards' equipment and count and the guests" I counted with my fingers.

"That's everything. Let's get out of here"

* * *

Back in the safe house...

We gave Bentley a quick recap of what happened and he just nodded and went to make a plan for the next day. I went to take a shower, change and wish Sly "Good night" before going to my room, crawling to bed and curling into a fetal position.

Now, that I was alone for the first time in a while, my mind wandered off to everything that had happened. Sly had said that we hugged a lot, which was true, we didn't really hug that much before and usually it was me who hugged him, not the other way around. I wondered what had caused it... or the kiss. Sly never kissed me anywhere, not on the forehead, cheek, lips, hand. I blushed when thinking about kissing him back.

 _"Maybe I should..."_

I giggled at the thought.

 _"I wonder what his reaction'll be_ _"_ I thought, giggling even more.

But what if he reacts badly? What would I do then? I loved him, but what I ruined my chances doing something like kissing him?

 _"Argh! Why is this so damn hard?! I've been at this for years! Why can't I just go and tell him!?"_

My brains decided to work out an answer on their own: _"Because you're too afraid of him rejecting you"_

It was true. I was terrified of him rejecting me. Then I would have nothing, not even the hope of Sly ever loving me and I don't think I could take that...

I continued contemplating on this until sleep finally overcame me. My dreams were still troubled, but the mere knowledge of Sly's return held off the worst nightmares.

 **Ok, a few things: 1. Penelope doesn't exist in this story and if she does, her backstory is completely different than in the game. If you ask why... I might've forgotten that she's supposed to exist and I'm too lazy to add her anymore.  
2\. If anyone is getting bored with Isabelle "pining away" after Sly then try to endure it. I'm working on it, but she's just a little shaken from ever** **ything and isn't afraid of showing it to Sly.  
** **3\. Not proofread BTW  
4\. About Izzy's "ability": She knows where the vital neural points are located in the body and how to best exploit them in combat. She has also mastered several martial arts.  
** **5\. Review and stuff...**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Their dance

 **Ok, I know I said Penelope doesn't exist in this story, but I have just edited the last chapter so that she's conveniently away and will come back in a day or two. It's not a big edit so you won't necessarily notice it immediately. Well, that's all... on with the chapter!**

 _Flashback, Rajan's palace in India..._

 _Jobs: Steal a Tuxedo/Dominate the Dance Floor_

 ** _Izzy's POV_**

 _Sly and I had tried to get to the party, but the doorkeeper didn't let us in since we lacked "the proper attire to attend to an event of such status". I had glared at him and Sly had rolled his eyes._

 _But Bentley of course had everything planned out already and he told us to go steal some appropriate wear from the guest house, where majority of the guests had been accommodated. He'd also told us that stealing clothing wasn't an exact science and that we should just ransack the place until we found something useful, which was an interesting observation, in my opinion._

 _In the guest house there were naturally guards patrolling in the rooms and along the hallways, but our journey went safely on the rafters and some really fancy chandeliers._

 _From the first room Sly found a jacket hung on a rack of clothes. It was long and dark purple in colour. Although, I myself thought that he'd look better in a black suit, but he probably didn't care - Oh, wait Carmelita's there! He's bound to care!_ _I let out a huff of annoyance. Unlike my partner in crime, I hadn't grown any fond feeling towards the vixen, even if she had helped us take down Clockwerk._

 _"What's wrong? Can't find anything?" Sly asked._

 _"This guy doesn't have a date" I announced, "There aren't any women's clothes here"_

 _"Let's check the next room then. This guy hasn't packed extra tux pieces either"_

 _We continued our ransacking in the next guest room and I got lucky. I found everything I needed from here. It's good that when we ladies overpack, we really don't leave it halfway. The dress I found was royal blue in colour. It was long, reaching all the way to my ankles. The dress came with a pair of shoes, meant for dancing and I eagerly took them with me as I knew that the heist would involve me and Sly dancing._

 _The sentiment made me smile, widely._

 _Sly on the other hand, wasn't so lucky as he found only a pair of gloves. Fortunately the three next rooms we turned upside down, provided him with the rest tuxedo pieces._

 _"Okay, I think I have everything now" Sly said._

 _"Good, go change" I ordered, pointing at the bathroom._

 _"What about you?"_

 _"I'll go change in the room I found this dress" I informed him._

 _He looked confused._

 _"Why?"_

 _"The guest there had a rather nice collection of makeup and if we want to look like we belong there, I'm gonna need some makeup"_

 _"Ah" he nodded._

 _I exited the room and walked nonchalantly along the hallway. Thanks to me all the guards were unconscious in various locations and wouldn't wake up in a while, so I had nothing to fear, unless someone decided to retire early from the party, which was improbable_

 _. When I entered the second room we'd ransacked, I went straight for the bathroom where I found a nice little pouch of makeups. (Because I am just a simple man trying to write his fanfictions, I have no earthly idea about any kind of makeup whatsoever, so let's just say that Izzy applied the makeup and be done with it. All in favor? Good!)_

 _Once I had the makeup done, I slipped out of my current outfit and began putting on everything I'd "borrowed" from the female occupant of this room. I was in the middle of dressing myself, when I heard the door open and shut._

 _I froze._

 _"Izzy?" called a familiar voice._

"Thank God, it's just Sly" _I thought._

 _"I'm here!" I called back to him._

 _Then I realized that I wasn't even fully dressed yet. For a moment, I thought about telling him to come in and maybe just flashing something at him quickly._

 _But I decided against it._

"That would be a little too desperate"

 _"But I'm not dressed, so don't you dare come in!"_

 _I heard his steps halt._

 _"Do tell when you're... decent" he replied and I could hear the smirk in his voice._

 _I took my time putting everything on and reinspecting myself from the luxurious mirror._

 _"We do have schedule to keep, ya know..." Sly quipped from the door._

 _I spun around to face the raccoon. A snippy comeback at the ready, but it died in my mouth as I saw him. He had the tuxedo on and miraculously it fit him perfectly. I was too busy staring at Sly in his tux that I didn't even notice him walking up to me. He looked so damn good in it!_

 _He clearing his throat finally snapped me out of it._

 _"Didn't I tell not to come in?" I immediately asked, turning to the mirror again, barely able to hide my blush._

 _"You did, but I decided to ignore it"_

 _That arrogance! Sometimes I really want to slap him for it. Buuut on the other hand, I did love it..._

 _I rolled my eyes at the comment and continued my self-inspection._

 _"Are you thoroughly impressed by yourself by now?" Sly asked from behind me._

 _"Well, now that you ask, I think some jewelry wouldn't hurt" I looked around, "But there doesn't seem to be any here" I continued, slightly disappointed._

 _Again, Sly moved without me noticing and was suddenly standing right behind me with his hands lifted to my neck's height._

 _"How about this then?" he asked, letting a beautiful silver necklace with a sapphire embedded in it fall from his hands._

 _He left it dangling in the air so that I could see it properly. My heart was already hammering away by then..._

 _"It looks... sufficient" I replied in a weak voice._

 _He quirked a brow._

 _"Only sufficient? Does the princess desire something more extravagant?" his voice was dripping with sarcasm._

 _"No!" I exclaimed, "It's good"_

 _He smirked once again, clasped the necklace around my neck and withdrew a few steps._

 _"You were right, little jewelry didn't hurt at all"_

 _I turned away from the mirror to smile at him._

 _"Shall we?" he asked, offering me his arm._

 _I smiled even wider and accepted his offer eagerly._

 _"We shall"_

 _We marched proudly through the guest house and through the streets. The guards paid us no mind, since we probably didn't look different to them than any other guests._

 _It felt so good to be this close to him, for a fleeting moment, I let myself pretend that this was Sly taking me on a date somewhere real fancy. I wondered if he thought the same, but immediately squashed the though. Why would he think that? He's probably thinking about how to best woo Carmelita. The prospect really made me so angry, but also sad._

 _So sad in fact that I let a small sigh escape my lips._

 _"What is it?" I heard Sly ask._

 _"Nothing, I just hope all goes well" I quickly lied._

 _"I think it'll be great!" he replied, sounding very, very excited._

 _I just sighed again._

 _"I wish I could say the same" I muttered under my breath._

...

"Remember the mission guys, you two will dance and try to get Carmelita's attention" _Bentley reminded us._

 _We'd just arrived at the ballroom and Sly was already looking for Carmelita._

 _I gave a laugh, thinking about us dancing. The last time we had danced, was when I'd forcibly dragged him to dance lessons when we were teenagers. He objected of course, but I "persuaded" him with a few "valid points" and we had a nice year together with dance lessons every Sunday. Bentley and Murray didn't stop picking on him about it for months..._

 _We'd really had fun there. We were both quite apt dancers by the end of the that year and I told him that someday we could really need these skills again._

 _Apparently, I wasn't wrong._

 _I felt my hand being grabbed and someone started to lead me to the dance floor. I listened to the music. It was a tango song, sort of an upbeat, but with very versatile melody. (That's the best description for the tango song I listened for this)_

 _We positioned ourselves for the oncoming dance._

 _From there on, I just remember dancing with Sly. Just staring deep into his brown eyes and letting him lead us through the dance. It felt magical. This was the closest I'd been to him in years and I loved every second of it._

 _But as all good things must, our dance too came to an end and I was bereaved from my dreams by a voice, I hated more than anything else in the world._

 _"Good evening. I just wanted to congratulate you for your performance. It was absolutely amazing" Carmelita complimented._

 _She was completely ignoring me and focusing her attention wholly on Sly._

 _Bentley had told me to look upset and annoyed as according to him that would only make Carmelita feel more inclined in trying to get Sly to herself._

 _It wasn't hard. I glared at her and did everything I could to make the vixen realize that she wasn't wanted here._

 _But of course, we had our plan and it involved Sly dancing with Carmelita. I doubt he would've even wanted it otherwise..._

 _"Why, thank you" Sly replied smoothly, "It is always nice to hear some words of appreciation"_

 _She smiled at him and they continued their idle chatting for a few moments, before Sly posed the question I'd been dreading for:_

 _"Perhaps you and I could share a dance later Ms...?"_

 _"Fox. Carmelita Fox and... I accept"_

 _"Perfect" Sly said, smiling kindly._

 _I didn't want to listen to them anymore, so I took this chance to interject:_

"Honey" _I said, putting some real emphasis on the word, "I think it's time we go"_

 _I half-dragged him from the dance floor and I wasn't even sure if he was acting or not..._

* * *

 _Back in the safe house..._

 _I'd taken a modest "bath" in our cave of a safe house and changed for bed. I went to look for Sly to wish him good night as I did every single night._

 _I found him sitting on the little balcony sort of formation that extended from our safe house's side._

 _"Sly?" I said, tapping his shoulder._

 _He turned his head to look at me._

 _"Good acting today, Izzy. You really looked like jealous woman who's losing her date" Sly smirked at me._

 _I forced a smile and he didn't seem to notice it. Inside of me though, that little "compliment" made me feel like my heart split in two. It hurt, even if it was completely logical for Sly to think I was acting, but still, it hurt._

 _"Good night" I whispered and walked away before he replied._

 _..._

 _I lay on my bed, thinking about his comment. I was wallowing in the emotional turmoil his words had awoken. Torn between sadness, self-hatred and frustration. Sometimes I wondered, if he would ever feel anything for me or would I just be pining away after him all my life. Watching him finding someone else, him introducing that someone to me with a big smile and pretending to be happy for them in their wedding..._

 _Why did it have to be so hard?_

 _Needless to say, I didn't sleep at all that night. I was just lying awake, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to escape._

"Why me?"

* * *

 **Izzy's POV**

I woke up somewhere near midday in my bed and yawned mightily, separating my jaws wide. Getting up, I just decided to stay in pajamas. That was mostly because I didn't need to do anything today and pajamas felt much more comfortable than normal clothes. I strolled out of my room and straight into kitchen where Murray was having his... lunch, I believe.

"Morning, Isabelle" Murray wished merrily.

"Good morning, big guy. Did you save any breakfast for me?"

"Sure! It's there on the stove"

I nodded thanks and went over to the stove to pile my plate full of eggs and bacon. I sat down by the table to eat.

Moments later, Bentley wheeled in with his computer in hand.

"Good morning, Isabelle"

"Morning, Bentley. How comes our plan?" I inquired.

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk about..." he looked around, "But apparently, Sly isn't awake so we'll have to wait for him"

Normally, I would just go and haul him from bed, but I decided to let him sleep in for once.

"Well, you can start sharing the plan with us anyway" I suggested, "I'm curious"

"Today, we will execute the operation"

"Already?" I wondered.

"Yes, there're only two other thing that need to be done before the OP: 1. taking control of their security and pretty much everything electric in the house. 2. stealing a security guard uniform for Murray" Bentley explained to me, "You can make a wild guess who'll be doing what"

"And how are we going to do that?"

"I'll take care of the security of course and you'll just go and steal a uniform from some laundry house. I will be leaving in few minutes" he announced.

I boggled at that.

"So soon?"

"I need to do it before Lucas wakes up or he'll know I'm an impostor"

"What about when he wakes up? Won't he hear it from someone, like the guards?" I asked.

"Maybe" Bentley replied, little too unsurely if you ask me... "All the more reason to carry out the operation today"

"We're stealing the crown today?" inquired a drowsy voice behind us.

We turned to look in the direction of the voice. There, in the doorway, stood Sly who looked like he had just woken up... which he probably had.

When I watched him slowly walk over to us, all the thoughts from last night about kissing him came back to me. I began thinking if I should really do it.

 _"He might not like it"_ I thought.

 _"Or he will"_ my brains countered.

 _"I can't know know that for sure"_

 _"You're only trying to convince yourself"_

 _"No, I'm not!"_

 _"Yes, you are"_

 _"NO, I AM NOT!"_

 _"Admit it, you are"_

 _"Screw this!"_

During my little mental battle, Sly had finished his walk over to us and was now sitting next to me, eating a slice of bacon he'd pilfered from my plate.

"Morning, guys, Izzy" he wished, still somewhat sleepily.

Murray and Bentley were both about to reply, but I beat them to it.

"Good morning, Ringtail" I said sweetly as I quickly bent over to him, pressing a quick kiss on his cheek.

Everyone had different reaction. Murray just stared at me, looking lost. Bentley frowned and quirked a brow at the same time. Sly on the other hand... his reaction came little late due to him still being half-asleep, but when it came, it was really something...

He had been rocking his chair back and forth with his feet like he always does and now, he was falling down. I guess, I took him by surprise.

 **"CRASH"**

And Sly was on the ground! Now, I was worried. His reaction hadn't been exactly what I'd been waiting for, even if I didn't really wait for anything specific.

"Why would you do that?" he asked, completely astounded and still lying on the ground.

I crouched down over him and cocked a brow.

"You didn't like it?" I asked, barely able to mask the worry into slight mischievousness.

"No..." said he, making me flinch, "...it's not that" he suddenly continued, "Just... give me a heads up next time"

 _"What? Is he saying that I can do it again?"_

"Are you saying that I can do it again?" I asked, unable to keep all of my incredulity from my voice.

He blushed a little and thankfully, the incredulity in my voice went unnoticed.

"I... guess I am"

I beamed at him. Grabbing his hand, I pulled him up and gave him another quick kiss on the cheek. Then I just pushed him to another chair and got him the last of the breakfast.

"Now, eat. We have work to do" I commanded.

* * *

 **First Bentley's POV! This probably won't be very long...**

I was on my way to Lucas's house, or more accurately, mansion. My thoughts were occupied by Sly's and Isabelle's odd behavior. They were acting... differently. Both of them seemed to be clinging more to the other. Isabelle perhaps a little more visibly than Sly, but he did it as well. And then there was the kiss... I had never thought about it, but now that I did I realized that they really didn't kiss each other that much. They didn't kiss at all actually... There was something happening between them, but I just couldn't quite put my finger on it and that was strange.

By the time I reached the mansion, I was getting worried that Lucas had already woken up. He would know for sure that there wasn't supposed to be anyone inspecting the security.

"Knock, knock" I knocked on the door.

My wheelchair was in its camouflage mode. All the buttons were hidden, the rocket boosters were locked down and all in all, it looked just like any other wheelchair, except maybe for the form.

I waited for a long moment before the door was opened.

"Who are you?" came a rude question from a security guard.

"Good day. I am here to inspect the security as promised" I lied.

"What? I am not informed of this"

"Well, here are papers that verify my qualifications" I handed him a forged stack of papers, "Mr. Lucas personally made contact with our company and asked for security check for the sake of his party"

The guard took a quick look through the papers.

"Hey, George!" he suddenly shouted into the house.

Footsteps started coming our way and soon next to the first guard stood another one.

"Are you aware of this security inspection. This guy claims that he was contacted by Mr. Lucas himself and asked to check our security"

The second guard seemed to think about it for a moment.

"I remember him making some calls a few days ago... and I think he mentioned something about tighter security. This could be what he meant" he shrugged.

"I need to verify this from Mr. Lucas"

My heart jolted upon hearing that. I hoped they didn't notice the sweat collecting on my forehead...

"He's still sleeping and you know how he doesn't like to be woken up" the other guard noted.

"But this is a matter of security!"

"Remember, Joe? He got fired for waking him just a few weeks ago"

The guard looked at me, then the papers, then the other guard and then me again.

"Fine, come in. I will be supervising you during this inspection. What are you supposed to be doing" he asked me.

"I was instructed to make sure that every security system is linked to the main terminal and that its firewalls are still functioning as they should" I replied professionally.

If they just let me on the main computer, I could easily download a software that would allow me to control everything that's linked to it.

"Follow me then and don't run off" the guard ordered.

"I'm in a wheelchair. Do I look like I could 'run off'?" I quipped.

The other guard chuckled, but was quickly silenced by a glare from his colleague.

"I have some duties to take care off" he muttered, excusing himself.

"Let's go"

He lead me to the main terminal. On the way, there were a few flights of stairs and the guard was forced to carry me up. Once I was in front of the main terminal he withdrew two steps and motioned for me to begin.

"I'll be here all the time, watching" he announced.

"Of course" I nodded.

It was relatively easy to download the software and do the so called "inspection". Everything in the house was linked to the main terminal! I mean every last appliance from the security cameras to the refrigerator. I could tell the guard tried to keep up on what I was doing, but the sheer number of tabs and my typing speed must've made it hard for him.

"Everything seems to be in order" I informed at last.

"Was there something else then?" the guard asked.

"No, that is all. Mr. Lucas has already taken care of everything, including the payment"

"Then you won't mind me escorting you out?" he "asked", even if it was more of an demand.

"Not at all. I will be needing your help with the stairs and all..." I reminded him.

His expression dropped slightly when he was reminded of this. It wasn't that I was heavy, it was the chair that really weighed like a sin.

"Shall we, then?" I asked.

* * *

 **It was surprisingly long to me, but anyways, back to Izzy's POV**

"Do you remember the plan?" I asked Sly, who was just now putting on a black suit.

I had gotten it for him as soon as we'd stolen the security guard uniform for Murray and what I had always thought was true: He did look good in a black suit, much better than in the tuxedo back in India.

"Yeah, we dance, you distract Lucas, Murray and me make our way to the vitrine with the crown, Bentley turns off the lights, Murray takes down the guards, I get the crown, then we all head out we head out separate ways. You and I make our exit and go for the rendezvous point at the van. If everything goes according to plan Murray should arrive seconds after. Then we get out of there"

I was amazed. Sly didn't study the plans by heart like that. Sure he knew what we were supposed to be doing, but that kind of detailed description that included what everyone was supposed to be doing all the time was never his thing.

Apparently, my amazement showed on my face, because his next comment was:"I had to memorize the action plans pretty quickly when in Interpol"

I just nodded in understanding, not wanting to dwell in the subject. I tried quickly to find something else to talk about, when my eyes happened to land on his red bowtie. It was a mess! Didn't Sly know how to tie a proper bowtie?

I went over to him and examined it closer.

"Look at that mess of a bowtie!" I exclaimed overdramatically.

He looked at it in the mirror. His face adopted a sheepish looking smile and he was about to undo and redo it, but I stopped him.

"Here, let me. You'll just mess it up even more" I said playfully, undoing the disaster he called a bowtie, "You really don't know how to tie this the right way?"

"Perhaps I messed it up on purpose... just to get you closer to me" he said in a voice barely above whisper.

My head sprung up to look at him and my cheeks flashed red.

He was flirting! With me! Since when does Sly flirt with me!?

"Idiot" I muttered, causing him to smirk that smirk I loved so much.

I finished off the bowtie and looked at him again.

"You know, you could've just asked if you're that desperate" I quipped.

"Oh, I'm not desperate and I know, but I enjoy making you blush"

I refused to let myself blush more than I already had. Sly had never deliberately made me blush and even if I _did_ blush, he usually didn't notice it.

"You should probably go get ready" he suddenly suggested, "We'll be leaving soon"

* * *

 **Sly's POV**

I was waiting for Izzy to come out of her room so that we could finally get going. I didn't really know why, but I was really looking forward to getting to dance with her again. I hadn't really paid attention last time we danced in India.

It made me feel bad for some reason. I should've paid more attention to her back then. It _was_ our dance... together...

"Ok, I'm ready!"

I shook my head, trying to clear the conflicting thoughts and lifted my gaze to Isabelle.

I gasped.

She was wearing a beautiful red dress that hugged her hourglass figure smoothly. And the cleavage... it was rather... generous, not that I would mind, just saying. The dress reached all the way to her ankles (again...), but left her arms were bare. On her wrists she had two silvery bracelets. Once I managed to rip my gaze from the cleavage, I noticed the necklace she had. It was the same one I'd given her in India. She still had it? She also had red dancing shoes and...

"Earth to Sly!"

I blinked.

"Huh?" I blinked again and finally my eyes focused on her face. She had covered the scar with some makeup. Part of me always wondered, why she didn't do that in the first place, rather than using her hair to cover the whole eye.

She was now standing in front of me without me even noticing and the smirk on her face was wider than ever.

"See something you like?" she inquired.

"Y-You" I stuttered, then blushed.

She laughed. It was full of joy and amusement.

"Come on now, we need to get to the party" she said, grabbing my arm.

When she started pulling me towards the door, I finally regained my composure and my brains started working again.

"Izzy?"

"Yeah?"

"You look fabulous"

She looked at me. Then assessed me from head to toe with playfully critical look.

"You look very handsome as well"

I stared at her for a moment, smiling. And then, just on a whim, I pecked her nose gently. Like last time, it was more out of impulse than a conscious act. But also, just like last time, the good, right kind of feeling washed over me and I wondered how she would feel about that. Last time, she'd been surprised and now... she seemed to be slowly breaking into smile.

All of a sudden, she grabbed my face and pulled me down. My cheek landed on her lips and she gave me one big, sloppy kiss, afterwards rubbing the spot with her nose.

Then, she just skipped happily to the van, leaving me standing there, staring after her dreamily.

I wondered what was happening between us.

 _"Well, whatever it is, I'm really beginning to like it!"_

* * *

Our forged invitations worked like a charm and we were let in without any skirmish. Izzy was holding onto my arm. It was really making me feel confident. Like I could do anything... Murray had joined a patrol of guards and there didn't seem to be any problems with that either.

On our way to the ballroom, we attracted some glances from the other guests who'd come to the entrance hall to cool down a little. Most of the men watched Isabelle glide gracefully beside me and some of them were almost drooling, though that included mostly just them who had no date... or at least one couldn't be seen for the moment.

And the women...

They were gaping at me and most of their dates were giving me outright despising looks. Fortunately, I had Izzy there with me. Her murdering glares were enough to make the females shrink back and turn their attention back to something else. Although I still noticed some more clandestine looks being cast by pretty much everyone at us.

"We seem to attract some unwanted attention" I observed.

"It's just because of me. You said it yourself, I'm fabulous!" she proudly declared.

I detached my hand from hers and brought it around her, pulling her against me.

"That you are, Isabelle"

We entered the ballroom and were immediately met with the music and chattering of the crowd. No one really paid any attention to us, which was good thing. We didn't want to make too grand entrance.

"There's Lucas" Izzy pointed imperceptibly at the lynx standing next to a plexiglass vitrine.

"And the crown" I added.

The vitrine itself was surrounded by four security guards and I noticed that Murray had somehow made it as one of them.

 _"He was fast..."_

The dance floor was right next to the vitrine, probably so that Lucas could see the crown if by some divine miracle someone asked him to dance. I chuckled at the prospect.

There was a waltz beginning, so I lead Izzy to the dancefloor and we readied for the dance. I still remembered the year we'd spent on dance lessons together. I admit, I was a little reluctant at first, but later came around when I noticed that it was really fun dancing with her.

The dance began, but I didn't concentrate that much on it. The dance moves came from our muscle memory even if it had been a long time since we'd danced together. I was really just focusing on Izzy's cerulean eyes. I was losing myself in their blue depths. They were like two sapphires. So beautiful, so bright.

Alas, the dance ended all too soon and I was brought back to reality.

"Come on" I said, tugging Izzy towards the vitrine, "I need to examine the showcase"

We headed for the Crown of the King. I let go of my partner in crime, somewhat reluctantly. After all, I was just supposed to be Izzy's friend who she had brought with her.

Though, I'm not sure if our dance really suggested that we were just friends...

 _"Wait. What am I thinking?"_

Izzy cast one quick, wistful look in my direction as we separated and I went to the vitrine and she went to talk to Lucas. I bent down, pretending to be admiring the crown, but in reality, it was the lock I was really interested in. Even though, lock wasn't exactly the word I would use. It was a hasp to be more precise.

 _"It must be rigged to trigger an alarm if lifted"_ I deduced, _"This guy relies far too much on technology..."_

I heard Izzy laughing and looked up. She was chatting with Lucas and was seemingly comfortable and relaxed, but I saw right through it. She wasn't uncomfortable, no, but she was clearly tense and ready for anything that might happen.

When a new song started playing, she apparently suggested for them to dance, because seconds later, they walked together to the dancefloor and took positions. I watched intently as Lucas's hand slid sickeningly down to her waist.

A sudden wave of possessiveness and... jealousy came over me.

Those feelings were a lot stronger than they should've been. They were much stronger than with Carmelita. It surprised me. I had no idea what this was or why I was feeling like this. (Yeah, Sly's really that dim in this case)

I snapped out of my thoughts as I suddenly remembered, why I was here. I raised my hand to my ear. If someone looked, it would seem like I was scratching my ear, but really I was turning on my earpiece and whispering: "Time for Phase 2"

 _"Ok, lights out in 10_ _seconds"_ Bentley replied.

In ten seconds, the whole ballroom went completely dark. Screams erupted from the crowd and the music stopped. No one could see in this kind of dankness, but the gang had come prepared. We had night-vision goggles that Bentley had modified so that they looked like normal eyeglasses, in case someone saw them. (No idea how, he just has)

 **"PUNCH"**

 **"POW"**

 **"KATOW"**

Apparently, Murray had taken care of the other three guards. I slipped on my goggles, opened the vitrine and grabbed the Crown of the King from its little pillow. In its place I left the Cooper calling card. Izzy appeared next to me suddenly and she smiled at me and then looked at the crown.

"Looks nice" she commented.

"Let's get out of here. We need to get to the rendezvous point" I said and we broke into a sprint.

I noticed that Izzy had night-vision goggles on as well and I couldn't help but to wonder where she'd kept them...

"What about Lucas?" I just had to know.

"Left lying on the floor with his right arm paralyzed" she replied happily.

"Did he try something?" I asked darkly.

"His hands were trying to get to places they should've stayed far away from"

I almost turned back to go make sure his arm stayed paralyzed, but managed to stop myself for the sake of the heist.

We made it to the rendezvous point in time. Bentley already had the van running and now we just waited for Murray to arrive. He too was on schedule and without further ado, our hippo friend grabbed the wheel and drove away.

* * *

 **Izzy's POV**

In the safe house, we all witnessed Sly laying our newest trophy on the trophy shelf. It was a big moment for all of us. Sly had finally come back and we had pulled a successful heist together.

And something else was stirring between us. He had kissed me again and then there was the look he'd had when he saw me dancing with Lucas. I wonder what he had felt during that moment. He'd looked furious and... jealous, but was it all that there was to it?

If he had been jealous, then it meant... it meant that he felt something too!

After the moment passed and everyone went on their way. I went to shower and change. When I was looking for Sly, I was slightly afraid of what he would say this time. I dreaded for another good acting comment.

I found him in his room, already asleep on his bed. I went over to him and smiled when I saw his handsome face so peaceful. My hand reached out to gently caress his cheek.

"Good night, Sly" I whispered, kissing his cheek.

Out of nowhere, his face broke into a smile.

" _Isabelle_..." he muttered, sounding so happy and content.

 _"He's dreaming about... me?"_ I thought happily, though somewhat incredulously.

I kissed him again and left him to sleep. I walked to my room and lay on the bed.

 _"He's dreaming about you!"_ my mind kept repeating.

I let this thought lull me to sleep, in turn dreaming of him.

 **Hopefully you liked this and I know, I know it's full of emotional contemplation and all that. Review and stuff...**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Their friend's return

 **Okay, this is another normal chapter and nothing much happens. If someone is wondering about the plot of this story then don't worry! I have plan, but I just want/need to do a little romancing before I move onto the actual plot. Do enjoy if you can.**

 _Flashback, Blood Bath Bay_

 _Time: Right after the job X Marks the Spot_

 ** _Izzy's POV_**

 _Penelope and I were_ _captured by LeFwee, that stinking little parrot. He had appeared out of nowhere when Dimitri had opened his grandfather's chest. The gang had been pretty much helpless when the pirates held swords to mine and Penelope's throats. We'd been thrown in the brig of Death's Hand, LeFwee's ship. I was trying to find a way out, but with nothing to pick a lock or a barless window to climb out from, it wasn't an easy task. Penelope wasn't much help. She was too frightened by what the pirates were gonna do with us. Granted, it worried me too, but she could've tried to do something at least._

 _And I still wasn't very fond of her either. The little rat had been flirting with Sly every chance she got and it annoyed me to no end. Although, she hadn't done it as much as earlier for some reason, but I didn't care! She had done it_ enough _!  
_

 _"Gah! There's got to be a way out of here!" I shouted, punching a wall._

 _That wasn't very wise move as my knuckles hurt like hell after it._

 _"There is no way out" Penelope sobbed quietly._

 _I slumped next to her and lowered my head to hands. I felt so useless and I was already missing Sly and worrying for him. He always did something stupid when I wasn't watching..._

 _"Sly'll rescue us" I said quietly._

 _Penelope didn't respond and I just thought that she hadn't heard me._

 _"What's going on between you and Sly?" she suddenly asked._

 _"W-What?" I stammered, greatly taken aback._

 _"Well... you act differently around him... especially when..."_

"Don't say it..." _I pleaded in my mind._

 _"I flirt with him" she finished, sounding slightly embarrassed, but I didn't notice it at the moment._

"You said it!"

 _"I, um... he..." I let my head sink even lower into my hands._

 _I could feel Penelope's gaze boring into me as I thought desperately of what to say. What the heck could I say? She'd already noticed what was going on and even if I didn't want to admit it, she is smart enough to figure it out._

 _"I don't know what to say" I whispered, smacking myself mentally for even saying it._

 _"Are you... Are you in... love with him?" Penelope asked carefully._

 _I froze. She figured it out faster than I'd hoped._

"What the heck am I gonna do now?!"

 _My lips worked on their own without me even noticing anything, before it was too late that is._

 _"Yes"_

 _I peered at Penelope from between my fingers and saw that her expression was full of... thoughtfulness? Why? What was she thinking about? What's there to think in all this?_

 _"Excuse me! How long have you actually known him?" she asked, now sounding incredulous._

 _That question came straight from the bushes. As did the sudden change in her demeanor. And why would she as something like that? What does it even got to do with anything? We've been captured by pirates and she wants to know when I met Sly?_

 _"Almost fifteen years?" I said, sounding confused._

 _"And how long have you been in love with him?" she asked, cocking a brow and somehow I just felt the sarcasm radiating from her._

 _"About..." I started thinking back. How old we were when I'd first realized that I loved him?_

 _"I think we were about 15"_

 _(If I forgot to mention this in the prologue or the other chapters, Sly and Izzy were both eight years old when they first met in the orphanage and they're now 23 in the present)_

 _"So... you've been in love with him for..._ eight years _? And he doesn't even know? What the... How did you manage that?_ " _Penelope was beyond incredulous at this point and she was staring at me with wide eyes._

 _"It not that simple, you know..." I muttered in the absence of a better excuse._

 _"That's the oldest excuse in the book" she quipped._

 _"Our lives weren't exactly normal!" I snapped, "We were 18 when we decided to go after the Fiendish Five to steal back the Thievius Raccoonus and avenge Sly's parents. After that it's just one series of events. Fiendish Five fell one by one and we finally defeated Clockwerk in a volcano and got back the last pages of thieving guide. Two years later, Bentley learns that someone's gonna reassemble Clockwerk and then the whole thing with the Klaww Gang started and of course we were in the middle of it all. We came out as winners that time too, but then Murray left and everyone was feeling down and after that we learn that there's some vault where all Sly's ancestors have stored their loot and now I am here. Telling my heart's deepest secrets to someone I've only known for a few months, a someone I don't exactly like!"_

 _"OK, OK, I get it" Penelope lifted her hands in the air and shuffled a little away from me, "And besides, you can trust me. I promise I won't tell anyone"_

 _She gave me an odd look._

 _"Why don't you like me?" she asked, sounding a little sad, but before I could answer, she did it for me, "Because of Sly?"_

 _I just nodded in confirmation._

 _"Well, don't worry about it... I kinda realized that maybe me and Sly isn't the best idea..." she explained uneasily, twiddling her thumbs._

 _"Oh... well... that's... good to hear" I was seriously relieved when she told me this and it instantly made me feel better of her._

 _And that was the moment when she gave me the first of those annoying smiles I would be seeing so much in the future, saying: "OK, back to you and Sly..."_

 _I groaned audibly, somewhat having hoped that she'd forgotten the subject, but no. Of course she hadn't._

 _"How about before you went after Fiendish Five? Why didn't you tell him back then? Three years should be enough" the sarcasm! Her voice was dripping with it! But something was... different about it... it wasn't that kind of mean sarcasm. It was more like how friends tease each other about their crushes..._

 _I wasn't sure if this realization made me feel any better of the situation at hand._

 _"Back then I'd only just realized I loved him and Sly actually had a little thing with someone" I explained._

 _She gasped, way too dramatically in my opinion._

 _"What? Really? Who was she? Did you ever meet the girl? What was she like? Why did they break up?" Penelope ranted._

 _"Whoa! Slow down" I tried to hold back the flood of questions, "I met her, yes. Her name was Maria. A spoiled little brat" I huffed, "She was a red fox. Very pretty, everyone adored her and especially her fur. It was bright red as was typical for her species, although hers was_ very _red. Sly once told me how her fur was like a coat of fire when sunlight shone on it" I scoffed when saying this, "And I have no idea why they broke up, Sly never told anyone, not even me, but I understood that she just vanished one day and no one saw her again afterwards"_

 _(I just got an idea on how to add some more drama to this story!)_

 _"Was she kidnapped?" Penelope asked me with wide eyes._

 _"I don't know. I have no idea what happened to her, but it's possible. Her family was rich after all"_

 _"OK and after that?" she just didn't quit..._

 _"Well, Sly was obviously heartbroken and I tried to comfort him the best I could-"_

 _"Why didn't you confess to him then? It would've been an excellent opportunity!"_

 _"I wasn't going to use his sadness like that. I know he would never do something like that to me and I wasn't gonna do it to him either!" I said firmly, somewhat glaring at the mouse next to me for suggesting something like that._

 _"Okay, okay, that's the first good reason you've given me so far"_

 _OK, now I was glaring at her._

 _"And how about the two years-"_

 _"I don't know!" I shouted, cutting her off, "Just drop it, please. I don't know why I haven't told him so stop pestering me about it! If you want to help me then tell me how I_ should _tell him about all this!_ _" I spread my hands wide as I continued shouting._

 _"Just walk up to him and say: 'Sly, I love you' and that's it" she said it like it was the most simple thing in the world and that again annoyed me greatly._

 _"And what if he doesn't love me back?" I asked quietly._

 _"That's the trick. Love is a risk sometimes. You won't know unless you tell him" Penelope said, making me sigh in frustration._

 _"Well, that helps a lot" I said sarcastically, "Thanks"_

 _She didn't say anything else and her words remained in my head, repeating over and over again._

"You won't know unless you tell him"

 _Of course I knew this, but to hear someone actually say it... somehow it made the whole thing much more clearer._

 _For the first time in years, I actually felt better about my love for Sly._

* * *

 **Still Izzy's POV**

A week after our successful heist on the crown, I read from the newspaper, which Sly'd kindly gotten for me, that Lucas had been arrested. I, of course, immediately raced to tell Sly about it and on the way run into Bentley who told me that he'd orchestrated the whole thing.

"How'd ya do that?" I wondered out loud.

"Remember when I hacked his computer?" Bentley asked with a smirk.

I nodded.

"I still have control over it and I just sent an email to Interpol where Lucas had supposedly written a full confession and since it's been sent from his personal email, he's gonna have hard time proving that he didn't write it. He's jailed for sure!" he finished his explanation with a triumphant exclamation.

"Who's gonna be jailed?" Sly asked, poking his head out of his room.

"Lucas. Bentley set him up" I quickly replied, showing him the article.

"Well, that's great" Sly chuckled, "Good job, Bentley"

"Thank you. It was, even if I say so myself" our turtle friend answered humbly.

He wheeled back to his laboratory/bedroom, leaving me and Sly by ourselves. I turned to him with an expectant expression.

"What are we gonna do today?" I asked.

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because I can't think of anything _and_ I'm bored" I pouted.

"Murray mentioned something about picnic yesterday" Sly said.

"Picnic?" I asked somewhat amused, "So, basically Murray's gonna eat, Bentley's gonna read a book and we're gonna watch as Murray eats and Bentley reads?" that's how our picnics usually went.

"Pretty much" he smirked, "But at least we get to watch them together"

Sly walked away, which was a good thing because it left no witnesses to the delicate blush creeping to my face after that comment. I wondered if he did it on purpose this time or if he just said something like he usually does.

"Izzy? You still there?" Bentley asked, wheeling out of his room.

"Yeah, what is it?" I asked.

"I just got a message from Penelope! She's be coming back today!" he told me excitedly.

I was surprised and happy. She was finally coming back after so long. I had really missed her. I remember when she almost didn't want to leave me in my state of sorrow after Sly's "amnesia" had occured. Penelope had become a good friend to me ever since our capture in Dagger Island and I'd told her pretty much everything ever since.

"That's great! When is she coming?"

"In an hour, she says" Bentley told me after a moment.

"Great! She'll make it in time for out picnic" I said.

"Picnic?" Bentley asked, looking confused.

"Murray's been planning a picnic and apparently we're going today"

(About this picnic, I got the idea from a French text I was reading the other day in France and thought that maybe it'll be a good idea for a chapter and also... um... I've got no better idea... so, yeah)

"Oh, I'll go get my book then" he answered, wheeling away again, leaving me chuckling and shaking my head.

* * *

Let's timeskip to Penelope's return...

 **Still Izzy's POV**

Everyone was sitting in the the living room, waiting for Penelope to arrive. Bentley was anxious and constantly checking his watch for the time. I was excited as well. I would get to see my good friend after so long! I wanted to tell her everything that'd happened from the moment Sly came back to us... even if I knew that she wouldn't stop pestering me about it afterwards.

"Knock, knock" echoed from the front door, before someone opened it with a key. In walked a short figure with short brown hair and long black coat and sunglasses. It actually took me and Bentley a moment to realize that it was really Penelope in her disguise.

"Bentley!" she exclaimed the moment her eyes found the turtle in his familiar wheelchair.

She leapt in a way that almost left me and Sly in shame and landed on Bentley's lap. Everyone watched with a smile as the two exchanged a long awaited kiss of reunion.

"I missed you, Bentley!" Penelope exclaimed.

"I missed you too, Penelope" Bentley answered, hugging her tightly.

She giggled and kissed him again.

"I love you" the mouse said happily after pulling back.

"And I you" Bentley replied just as happily.

I suppressed the urge to sigh wistfully and glance longingly at Sly. And as if she could sense it, I instantly felt Penelope's eyes on me and another annoying smile playing on her lips.

"Hi, Penelope" I said, waving at her.

"Hi, Isabelle. How are you?" thank God the smile vanished and was replaced with concern for me.

"Never better" I said happily and moved closer to Sly almost unconsciously. I felt his hand wrap around my shoulder and somehow I got the feeling that he didn't think about it too much either.

We'd been like that for the past week. Almost unconsciously trying to be close to one another and not noticing it until we'd been like that for some time. At first, it was a little awkward for him, I could see it. I on the other hand, loved it, but Sly wasn't used to it. Fortunately, he got over the feeling rather quickly and to my delight welcomed the closeness.

Penelope's eyes widened a little and she stared at Sly's hand.

"Have you-"

"No!" I quickly interrupted, knowing what she was going to ask.

All the men looked at us with question, but we just shook our heads and said nothing. Penelope knew that they wouldn't let it slide just like that, so she tried changing the subject.

"What are we doing today?" she said. Fortunately, we had something planned and her excuse went without questioning.

"We're going on a picnic" Murray announced happily.

"Really? A picnic? That's awesome!" Penelope answered with exaggerated enthusiasm.

"I wonder how our picnic goes with her there" Sly whispered to me, causing me to laugh and Penelope to look at me.

She mouthed me: "Tell me everything"

"You got it" I mouthed back.

* * *

 **And even still Izzy's POV**

We were walking to our picnic place. It was a small clearing in the forest which we'd found once by accident during one of our heists when we had been running from Carmelita and we'd stumbled upon it and I'd thought: "Hey, what a nice place to have a picnic"

I don't know what made me think that back then, but anyways I did and since then, we'd picnicked there every now and then. This was the first time that Penelope was with us though.

On the way through the forest, my thoughts wandered off to the conversation I'd had with my friend...

 _Flashback..._

 _I was walking towards Bentley's lab. I already knew that Penelope was there waiting for me as it was finally time to talk to her. Bentley had gone to pick up some parts before the picnic and she'd stayed with the excuse of wanting to unpack._

 _I opened the door without knocking and walked in. I saw her behind a little workbench, working on some device I didn't recognize. Her small suitcase laid on the floor near the bed. It looked like it hadn't even been opened._

 _"Tell me everything that's happened" she said without looking up. Her tone was somewhat absentminded, but I knew that I had her full attention._

 _I'd tried to mentally prepare for telling her the whole story, but it was still hard when that smile spread across her lips once I got to the part where I kissed Sly on the cheek for the first time. Upon hearing that, Penelope set the device aside and lifted her gaze. Her eyes were wide and she was staring at me intently. I continued on the story, telling about the heist and Sly's strange behavior at the party. Penelope smiled again, but kept quiet and listened as I recapped the whole week that'd gone by. I told her basically everything as we had no secrets on this subject._

 _"Sooo...?" I asked, when she didn't immediately say anything after I finished._

 _"What so? Isn't it obvious?" she asked incredulously._

 _"What's supposed to be obvious?" I asked, not understanding what she could mean._

 _"_ _Sly's feelings for you are growing. Why else do you think he'd be like that?" Penelope asked._

 _"Do you really think so?" I asked with a hopeful voice._

 _I'd noticed some... differences and changes in Sly's behavior, but I'm not sure what they mean yet..._

 _"You really don't see it?" she huffed seeming somewhat annoyed by my obliviousness._

 _"No! I don't see it! Do you think I'd ask if I did!" I snapped. I always snapped at her when she had that certain tone, like now._

 _Penelope realized her mistake and looked down to the bench._

 _"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it" she apologized._

 _"It's okay. I'm used to it... somewhat" I sighed, "Do you really think Sly's starting to have feelings for me?"_

 _"It's obvious!" she exclaimed again,"Why else would he a) kiss you b) act like he did at the party or c) want to be so close to you all the time?" Penelope listed, "Now, you just need to go and tell him that you love him"_

 _"Whoa, back up. I'm not there yet" I said._

 _"What's the problem?" she asked, frowning._

 _"I'm still not feeling good about this..." I said, looking elsewhere._

 _"Why?" she asked. Always asking me that, she was..._

 _...and I always answering: "I don't know. I really don't"_

 _"You won't-"_

 _"Know before you tell him. Yeah, thanks, I know" I finished her sentence for her, all the time rolling my eyes._

 _"Well, tell him then. For instance the picnic is a great chance" she reasoned. Another thing I didn't like: Her reasoning. It was always flawless and reminded me of how my brain was always right about the exact same thing._

 _"I'll... do my best" I replied, ending that bit of conversation._

 _From there on, Penelope thankfully dropped the subject (for now) and we moved on to talk about her time in the Netherlands._

Flashback end...

Pushing aside the last branches, I stepped into the little clearing. It hadn't changed much, the hay had grown on some spots, but otherwise the place was covered in soft moss. The lone oak stood in the middle of the clearing on a little hill. It cast a nice shadow in the hot afternoon sun.

I heard Penelope gasp behind me.

"This place is beautiful!" she said in awe.

"Yeah, we found it a long time ago when running from Carmelita" Sly said.

She nodded in response and turned to say something to Bentley. I started making my way towards the oak tree. There was a specific branch I always sat on when we come here. Sly sometimes came with me, but most of the time he just reclined in the sun or tried to get a little bite of food from Murray.

This time, he didn't seem to follow me, which I found odd. I looked back and saw that Bentley and Penelope were going somewhere to read the book they'd brought together. Murray was taking things out from the basket and setting them on the blanket all the while humming happily. Sly noticed me looking and gestured for me to go. I figured he'd follow me later and maybe even bring us something to eat for once.

I continued to the old oak and started climbing up it's thick, winding branches. My branch was one of the highest up the tree. The oak was so old and tall that even the upper branches were almost thicker than Murray. I could easily just stand up and walk along a bough. Only the very highest branches were a little thinner so that I needed to pay a little more attention to where I set my foot. I found my spot and sat down, my feet dangling over the sides of the branch. That part of the tree was covered by little foliage and I could see through the leaves. I saw the treetops of the forest and behind them, Paris could be seen not too far away. My eyes closed and I enjoyed the scent of the old tree and the little spots of sun that hit me through the foliage.

"Someone is enjoying herself" came a voice from behind me.

I heard someone land behind me and sit down. A hand wrapped around my stomach before I even could turn my head to look at the source of the voice. Of course, I knew it was Sly. I let him pull me against him. Once I felt him there, I leaned back and rested myself against the raccoon I loved.

"I managed to grab us sandwiches" he said quietly, placing one on my lap, "And on the way..." he continued and I felt how he slightly leaned over to grab something from the branch next to us, "...I found this"

He brought his hand in front of my face to show what he'd found. I watched intently at the thing in his hand. It was a single rose, a single, _blue_ rose. I stared at it in awe. Roses aren't blue, but here Sly was, showing me a real blue rose. Where the heck did he find it?

But before I could wonder about the flower any more, Sly's hand moved away. I felt it brush against my right ear as he carefully set the peculiar bloom behind it. I didn't feel any stings, meaning that Sly must've removed the thorns somehow before presenting the rose.

That single gesture made me forget all about the flower's uncommon colour and I focused on hiding the evident blush exploding on my cheeks.

"It's wonderful" I said.

"There's a whole patch of them just at the root of the tree" he told me, making me frown in thought again.

At the root there isn't much sun, which again is odd as roses need sunlight to grow. However, the one Sly'd given me was in full blossom.

 _"A blue rose that grows in the shadow..."_ I wondered, _"I need to talk with Penelope about this"_ (In all seriousness BTW most roses don't grow in the shadow, at least not well, and they most certainly aren't blue unless they've been bred in a lab or something. But according to the all-knowing Wikipedia, blue roses symbolize, along with prosperity and immortality, love, so it's a great addition to the chapter!)

"Something on your mind?" Sly interrupted my pondering.

"Just this rose" I answered, fingering the flower behind my ear.

"What about it?" he asked, obviously oblivious to the fact that roses aren't blue.

"Roses aren't blue, Sly" I chuckled.

"What do you mean?" I could hear that he was getting confused now.

"It's unnatural for rose to be blue" I explained.

"Oh" he ohhed, "I didn't know that"

"Now you do" I smiled, tilting my head to look at him.

"Well, whatever the color, it brings out your beauty"

I actually chuckled at his comment and he was again confused.

"What?"

"You still think I'm beautiful?" I asked. I actually wanted to know what he would say, but I didn't want Sly to realize it.

"Yeah" he said slowly, "Why wouldn't I?"

I didn't have the answer to that and I was slightly panicking over the whole thing now. What could I say now? Why had I even asked that?

"Um... I dunno..." I said in rather vague manner.

"Do you think you aren't?" he inquired.

"Well, I know I'm not ugly, but I wouldn't exactly use the word 'beautiful'" I explained, possibly sounding a little thoughtful.

"I would" Sly replied immediately and with firmness which again surprised me, "It's funny" he continued suddenly.

"What's that?" I asked.

"I didn't really notice it until recently..." he told me and just hearing his voice, I could tell that he was embarrassed and probably blushing.

"Well, now that you have, what do you have to say?" I asked in a teasing voice, though I really wanted to hear him say it.

"You're beautiful..."

I smiled and he went on...

"Ravishing, stunning, gorgeous and... wanna me go on?"

"By all means" I smirked. I knew he was just teasing me at this point, but somehow I couldn't help but to feel that Sly still meant everything he said.

* * *

In the evening

 **Izzy's POV**

I wished and kissed Sly good night and walked towards my room. On the way, I was intercepted by Penelope who was all excited and giddy to hear about everything. I couldn't get a word edgewise before she started bombarding me with all kinds of questions.

"Penelope!" I interrupted, "Would you like to _listen_ first and ask questions _later?_ " I quipped sarcastically.

She seemed to realize this only now and clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Oh, I'm sorry" she said and I shook my head.

"Come on, let's talk in my room" I replied, resuming on to my bedroom with her in tow.

Once in there, we sat ourselves on my bed and I told her everything that'd transpired during our moments in the old oak. At one point she started quietly singing _"Sly and Izzy, sitting in a tree-",_ but I silenced her with a murderous glare and went on with the "story" as Penelope sometimes called it.

Once I finished, she gave me a look and crossed her arms.

"And let me guess, you don't think anything's out of ordinary and that nothing has changed" she said dryly.

"What is it this time?" I asked, deliberately making my voice sound exasperated. I wasn't really sure what she had for me this time.

"Sly's in love with you... but he doesn't realize it" Penelope stated, "... Aaaand you're too scared of rejection to tell him that you love him, _even if_ I'm just now telling you how this is your best chance ever to confess to him"

And before I can interject anything, she rambles on:

"This is the perfect opportunity! Think about it. There's nothing big going on, like ancient, robotic, psycho owl threatening Sly's very existence or some other family drama. Also, Carmelita's out of the picture and I don't think Sly has his sights set on any other female cop at the moment. _And also_ , you've made him fall in love with you in a week. Think about that if you ever feel desperate about this"

I wasn't sure if she was trying to encourage me or was she mocking me in the Penelope-ish way she sometimes did, but whichever it was, I was suddenly very sure about Sly and that she was right that he did love me. At least to some extent.

 _"Now, all that's left is that you tell him"_ my brains whispered.

 **Ok, my thoughts for this story are getting a little too random, so I think I'll enter the actual plot in the next chapter. I still need to plan a little, but I have a strong faith in this idea and I hope everyone likes it! Review and stuff**

 **P.S. If this chapter felt somehow random to any of you readers, then don't worry. It isn't just you. I tried to fix it, but somehow the feeling didn't go away, no matter how I edited it.**


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Their new foe

 **As the sharpest readers might've already noticed, the story's cover image has changed. I happened to stumble upon that and it reminded me about Izzy. There's even a blue rose!**

 **Time for the action! BUT first some lovey-dovey, mushy-mushy stuff with our favourite raccoon pair and before that, there's naturally a flashback. I got the idea for this flashback when I was playing Sly 2, the job with the lightning rods in Contessa's prison. Enjoy!**

 _Flashback, Raleigh's facility_

 _Time: After stealing the third treasure key_

 ** _Izzy's POV_**

 _Sly and I had just now stolen the third of Sir Raleigh's treasure keys and according to Bentley, we could now get to the other side of the faciility through the high-voltage power tube. That would take us a step closer to Raleigh and the stolen pages of the Thievius Raccoonus._

 _Upon finding the third key, Sly had (of course) spun it around theatrically before landing it in his backpack. I'd just rolled my eyes at his antics and told him for the third time, not to play with the keys. To this, he responded laughing: "Come on, Izzy. Lighten up. You're sounding like Bentley"_

"I'm still here you know..." _came our turtle friends voice from the earpieces._

 _"Whoops" Sly chuckled in an embarrassed manner._

 _I giggled at his sudden abashment._

 _"It's good that one of us takes things seriously" I said, "Now, let's go. We got all the treasure keys we need"_

 _I jumped off the roof we were standing on and landed onto the ground. A quiet "thud" from behind told me that Sly had jumped as well. I ran ahead of him to the locked generator that was guarded by three sturdy locks that were handily unlocked with the treasure keys._

 _"Hey, Bentley, how do we..." I began._

 ** _SMASH!_**

 _"Nevermind..."_

 _I_ _had_ _intended to ask Bentley how to_ safely _disable the generator, but when I next laid my eyes on it, I saw Sly's cane buried in the machine. Sparks were flying and smoke curled up into the air. He hit it again, resulting more smoke and sparks flying out. The electricity was still running through the tube, but as more and more blows landed on the generator, the current slowly died down. With one last strike, the machine stopped humming and all its lights went out._

 _Then Sly turned to me with a triumphant and slightly giddy expression, which soon dropped when he met my reprehending glare._

 _"What?" he asked cluelessly, obviously not getting that what he just did was extremely dangerous._

 _"You idiot!" I shouted, smacking him on top of his head, "Do you realize how dangerous that was! Imagine what would've happened if that generator had backfired and the electricity would've conducted to you!"_

 _I went on for a few minutes while Sly listened patiently to all I threw at him. He was cockily leaning on his cane and with every word that passed my lips, his grin seemed to widen, which in turn fueled my indignation. After a ten minute rant, he finally opened his mouth to interject something, but I didn't let him._

 _"Save it! I don't want to hear it!" I snapped, "Now, let's go!"_

 _I turned and marched into the tube with him on my tail. I admit, I might've gone a little overboard with all the shouting, but I couldn't help it! I was worried about him. He always did something stupid when I wasn't watching and most of time even when I_ was _watching._

 _Blinded by my annoyance, I again ran ahead of him. Spotting another of Bentley's holo-markers on top of a high tower, I started making my way up there. Fortunately, there were stairs circling around the structure and I bolted them up. I tried to listen if Sly had followed me, but I didn't hear him. Although, that didn't mean he wasn't there. I quickened my pace and finally reached the top of the tower. My breathing was quick and without a second thought, I leant against a pole perched on top of the tower. It should've been obvious what the pole was there for, but at the moment I was for some reason unable to comprehend it._

"Wait a minute... high tower... with a pole on top of it..." _my brains moved incredibly slowly as they sluggishly pieced together all the snippets of information._

 _"Crap!" I yelped, but by then it was too late._

 _With a loud crackle, a lightning struck the pole I was still holding onto, which I now realized to be a lightning rod._

 _"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH" a scream erupted from me._

 _The electricity coursed through me with such a force that I couldn't do anything but scream. The pain was unbearable! It was a miracle I didn't die right then and there. My fur and hair bristled and I felt how my body slowly grew numb and weak. My eyelids drooped and my vision grew blurry._

 _And as quickly as it had started, the lightning was gone. Leaving my body in almost complete numbness, I fell on the slanted floor and slowly began to slide closer and closer to the edge. I tried to move, but my limbs didn't respond and my lips weren't even capable of screaming. The only thing I could do was close my eyes and wait for the incoming fall. Maybe it wouldn't feel so bad since my body was so numb._

 _I was now on the edge, half of my body was hanging in the air as the other half was lying securely on the tower's roof. Alas, I continued to slide and slowly the light fluttering filled my stomach. The edge was gone now, I was falling down with my eyes closed. I hoped it wouldn't hurt too much when I touched the ground..._

 _"Izzy!" a voice penetrated my ringing ears._

 _I barely felt the pair of arms wrap around me or the impact when we landed to the hard ground. Sly did his best, but he wasn't able to keep his balance with my limb body dangling in his arms. He fell down and I rolled a few feet away from him._

 _I didn't see him due to my head being turned in the wrong direction, but I soon felt his arms lift me again._

 _"Izzy, are you alright?" he asked frantically._

 _Normally, I would've frowned and snapped something. What did he expect? I'd just been struck by a lightning and fallen of a tower! Sly didn't seem baffled by my unresponsiveness and gently tilted my head a little. He was now looking into my eyes._

 _"Blink twice if you're OK"_

 _I did so and he let out a sigh of relief._

 _"I'll take you back to the van. You can rest there until you get the feel back to your body" Sly announced and broke into a sprint._

 _He kept up the brisk pace all the way to the team van and I couldn't help but to admire his endurance. I wasn't that heavy, but he had to pass over and under all the obstacles that stood between us and the van all the time carrying me. A couple of time, when he needed a hand to climb, he had to switch me to his shoulder. When we finally got into the van, Sly explained the situation to Bentley and laid me down on the thick blanket that was quickly spread on the floor for me._

 _Bentley made a brief examination to see if the lightning had done any severe damage. According to him, there was nothing yet, but he would need to make more thorough inspection later. Just in case._

 _Sly was about to go back to continue on our job, but he suddenly stopped next to me._

 _"Hey, Izzy" Sly whispered to me, "About the generator"_

 _I tried to protest, but my lips were completely numb and only sound I managed to get out was a weak "Hmh". Sly was aware of this and he was taking full advantage of the situation._

 _"My cane's handle is made of wood" he smirked, lifting up the thieving tool "And wood doesn't conduct electricity"_

 _I'm sure that if I had been able to move properly, I would be staring at him with wide eyes before regaining myself and reprimanding him for not saying it in the first place. To that he would have probably said that I didn't give him the chance which was true, I didn't. That made me realize that I needed to apologize to him as soon as he came back._

 _Now, however, the last though in my mind before passing out completely was:_ "That clever bastard"

* * *

 _Time: Two weeks after the Cooper Gang's picnic._

 **First 3rd person POV in this story**

A tall figure was standing alone in a dark room of an abandoned mansion outside of Paris. He was gazing into the fading day through a broken window. A cigarette was smoking between his teeth.

Without a warning, someone barged into the room, panting hard, as if he'd ran a great distance. The other figure didn't appear fazed by the sudden intrusion and calmly turned to regard the newcomer.

"Sir, I have found them" he reported.

"Good" the other said gruffly, "Get back there and keep an eye on them and especially _her_! I want a report _every day!_ Understood?"

He nodded and made his exit, leaving the other gazing out of the window again. The sun had almost set and darkness of the night was slowly covering the landscape.

"I coming for you, you little brat" the remaining figure snarled ominously into the night as he took the last deep drag, afterwards casting the snipe out of the window.

* * *

 _Time: Present_

 **Izzy's POV**

A month after our lovely picnic, it began raining like no tomorrow. The past three days had been bleak and stormy and my mood wasn't any better... well, unless I was with Sly which I very often did. I really hated storms and thunder, but fortunately I had a big, soft raccoon to hug whenever I felt like it. That thought really made me laugh and smile.

Following that train of thought and thinking about it a little more... well, Sly _was_ bigger than me, but maybe big's still a slight overstatement. He was perfectly built in my opinion. He was neither scrawny, even if many of our past enemies had called him that nor was he too bulky. And he certainly wasn't soft! Oh, no. He had strong muscles, but he was still awfully comfy to lie against, though. I loved doing it and I think Sly did too, at least he didn't object when I did it. (A/N I don't know where this is coming from...)

Another clap of thunder woke me from my reverie and made a uncomfortable tremble course through me. I hadn't always been afraid of thunder, but ever since I got indirectly hit by lightning in Raleigh's facility, I had had a healthy dislikes for stormy nights (and days too for that matter). But as I said, I had Sly to cuddle with if I felt like it, which I did, a lot.

That was actually the other thing that managed to lighten up my mood despite the stormy weather. Penelope had said that Sly had fallen in love with me, but he didn't yet realize it. I had (finally) noticed it too. We were practically acting like any couple, except we didn't kiss, I mean properly kiss. We even fell asleep together on the couch one evening and someone had been kind enough to wrap a blanket around us both. Later Penelope told me that it had been her.

"Sly!" I called into the safe house as another clap of thunder sounded.

"Yeah?" he called back.

"Where are you?"

"In my room...?" his tone of voice was questioning why I wanted to know.

But I didn't bother to answer as I just wanted to know so that I could go there and we could have our "mandatory cuddle time". That's what I had (very originally) named our daily time spent snuggling. I went upstairs and walked up to his room's door. I didn't knock and just entered without any bashfulness, just like I always did. He was there, lying on his bed, reading... the Thievius Raccoonus. Upon me entering, he raised his head to look at me.

"What's up?" he asked, slightly perplexed.

"Nothing much" I said, strolling over to his bed, "I just had the need to cuddle with someone"

I could really just see it in his eyes... He was about to throw a smart, extremely Slyish remark, probably saying that maybe I should ask Murray or something like that, but I beat him to it.

"And by someone, I mean _you_ " I announced, quickly wiggling underneath his right arm and laying my head on his chest, close to his heart. He brought his hand to rest lightly on my shoulder in turn.

Sly was reading the section of Thievius Raccoonus that had been written by Rioichi Cooper, his Japanese ancestor and developer of the Ninja Spire Jump. I knew it to be his favourite technique and I have to admit that it was a cool move. Rioichi really knew his stuff.

And yet another thunderclap had me pressing myself closer to Sly and wrapping my arms around his torso. I really didn't like thunder, at all and especially when the same storm had been going on for almost three days.

"Are you scared?" Sly asked softly, rubbing my shoulder lightly.

"A little" I answered curtly.

He chuckled very quietly, apparently trying not to let me hear it, but I did.

"Hey! You weren't the one holding on to a lightning rod just when it got struck!" I exclaimed indignantly, punching his stomach lightly, "That would give anyone a serious astraphobia" (Fear of storms and thunder)

"Ouch" he said in mock hurt, rubbing the spot I'd punched, "I guess you're right there" he agreed, "And yes, that wasn't me. That was you, but after that, guess who had to carry you all the way back to the van and get the rest of the keys _and_ beat Raleigh, alone?" Sly had a crooked grin on his face as he continued, "Yup, you guessed right, _me_ "

"It wasn't my fault" I frowned.

"I know, Izzy. I was just kidding" he assured.

"Hmph" I huffed.

Sly didn't give any reply and went back to reading his family tome. I juts listened to his steady heartbeat. The sound was so calming that it almost lulled me to sleep right there, but I resisted it, wanting to stay awake to enjoy our moment. Sly turned a page and I took a look just out of curiosity. On the new page stood a drawing of Rioichi with a female raccoon by his side. They had both been drawn with happy looks on their faces and they had dressed for...

 _"Wedding"_ I realized. (A/N What a coincidence!)

Rioichi was wearing a black and gray kimono and I admit, he didn't look bad. Sly was still more handsome, though. The female raccoon next to him was clad in white and red kimono. The wig usually worn in Japanese wedding was also there on her head. (A/N If you want more thorough explanation on Japanese wedding, you'll have to google. I only picked a few things for this and there's a lot more to it than just this stuff)

They looked very happy, you could see it, despite it being only a drawing. Rioichi was smiling broadly and I couldn't help but to try find some similarities in his and Sly's faces. The female raccoon too had a bright smile on her face and she was looking adoringly at Rioichi. It probably was the happiest day of their life.

Seemingly, Sly's thoughts had gone the same way mine had as he suddenly said: "They look happy together"

"Yeah..." I replied absentmindedly.

The drawing had inadvertently provoked some thoughts in me. I really tried not to follow the train of thought, but my attempts proved futile and my mind was filled with imagined images of my wedding... Well, to be more accurate, _our_ wedding. Of course Sly would be the one there in my imagination. Watching me slowly walk to him, us exchanging vows and rings, saying "I do" and kiss to seal the union forever...

"What are you thinking?" Sly asked, undoubtedly noticing my faraway expression.

"I was wondering if I'll... ever get married and have a normal life with my husband" I answered, with a slight longing in my words.

I didn't notice Sly's mien turn from casual to sad when I said these words. It must've hurt him to hear me say something like that, but I hadn't thought about it. And I meant what I said, but I left out the part where Sly was the husband I would have a normal life with. I remained oblivious to his feelings until he spoke again.

"Aren't you happy with your life here, with us?" he asked somberly.

My head sprung up from his chest and I looked him in the eye. As I finally took in his hurt expression, I realized what I said must've sounded to him.

"Oh, no, Sly! That's not what I meant!" I explained quickly, throwing my arms around him and hugging him tightly. That hadn't been what I meant at all...

"I wouldn't trade this life for anything, you know that, right?" I babbled, "You, Bentley, Murray and Penelope, my friends. I need you all Sly, but..." I paused, thinking if I should continue further. I wondered what he'd say if I said what I had been about to.

"But...?" he asked, edge of worry in his voice.

"But you're the one I need most" I whispered.

For a moment, he said nothing and I began thinking that maybe I shouldn't have said that, but then I felt his arms come around me and pull me a little closer to him.

"I need you too, Izzy. The gang as well, but above all... just you" he whispered, his cheek pressing to my hair.

The thunder and lightning were all but forgotten as we stayed in each others arms for time that felt like eternity to me. Somehow, this embrace had a different feeling compared to any other we'd shared in a while. It was more, meaningful and filled with something I would like to call love...

* * *

"Girl! He loves you soooo much!" Penelope squealed, clearly very excited.

"Not so loud! He might hear us" I snapped, terrified of the possibility. He had extremely sharp ears.

"He won't hear us from here" she replied confidently.

"Don't be so sure. Sly and I both have very sensitive ears and good hearing" I warned her.

"Whatever" she said dismissively, "When are you going to confess to him?" Penelope asked in that pestering way of hers.

"Soon" I replied, eliciting a surprised look from my friend.

It was very understandable, since my usual reply would've been something much more vague.

"How soon?" she asked with wide eyes.

"I don't know"

"Rather ambiguous answer" she huffed, tapping her foot out of impatience.

I decided to change the subject. Luckily, there was one thing I was actually interested in that I needed to talk about with her.

"How's the research going?" I asked.

"We still don't know how it's possible. First of all, it should be withered already and second, we still don't know how it can be blue!" Penelope ranted, obviously aggravated, because her and Bentley's combined efforts couldn't figure out why a rose was suddenly blue.

I had showed the flower to her after we'd gotten back and she had been awestruck by the peculiar colour. Although I was very reluctant, I had eventually given in into my friend's pleas to let her run some tests on it. Fortunately, the flower quickly rerooted itself on the little patch Penelope had planted it on. Yet another oddity of the blue rose.

(A/N It might actually have a purpose later, I have a few thoughts, but nothing certain)

"Is there anything you've discovered?" I inquired.

"Nothing worth mentioning, but we've also been busy planning a new heist" she replied.

"New heist?" I asked, already smiling at the prospect.

"Yeah, Bentley's gonna give us a slideshow later this evening"

"What's our target?"

"There's an exhibition on ancient art of different cultures tomorrow evening. Our target is an earthen Mayan figurine. It might not look or sound much, but its status as an ancient artifact makes it very valuable" Penelope explained.

"Sounds good" I smirked.

* * *

"...And that's how we'll do it" Bentley concluded.

I was so excited about the new plan to get the figurine. It included Sly and me pretending to be a married couple and that alone was enough to make it the greatest plan ever! (A/N WoW, there're a lot of marital things in this chapter)

The plan itself was quite simple. Once Sly and I got in, we'd locate the figurine and stay near it, until Bentley or Penelope gave the signal to proceed. Once the signal was be given, our brainiac duo would sound the fire alarm. That should create enough confusion for us thieves to grab the figurine and make a run for it. We weren't supposed to be stealthy about taking it, but we would need to be quick, because the alarm wouldn't distract security guards for long. Murray got the easiest part this time; he's just the getaway driver and gets to sit comfortably in the van with Bentley and Penelope while me and Sly are on the field. Not that I would mind it anyhow.

"This is a good plan" Sly praised.

"It's more than good!" I exclaimed, "It's great!"

The guys looked at me oddly, but fortunately didn't say anything about my enthusiasm. Penelope on the other hand gave me _the smile_ along with a knowing look.

 **Sudden change to 3rd person POV.**

The Cooper Gang didn't see the shadow in the window during their briefing about the figurine, nor did they see when that particular shadow stalked away from their safe house. It didn't go far, but enough so that no one could spot him easily.

"Sir, I have news" the shadow, a male rat reported to his walkie-talkie.

 _"Yes?"_ came a curt reply.

"They are planning on a new job. There's a gala on ancient art tomorrow and they're gonna steal one of the exhibits" the rat told his employer.

 _"Get the others and come back here. We need to make a plan"_

"Yes, sir"

* * *

(A/N I considered ending the chapter here, but then I though that maybe I should give y'all something more and I did promise some action in the last chapter. Also, longer chapters are always nicer, right?)

The rest of the day and most of the next went by quickly and I soon found myself entering the museum of the exhibition with Sly. We had clad ourselves fittingly for the occasion and Penelope had been gracious enough to even make us actual rings to further verify our supposed marriage.

I didn't mind it one bit, of course. I could now hold his hand and walk close to him...

 _"I kind of do that anyways... except hold his hand. That's something I haven't done"_

Whatever! I still enjoyed it thoroughly and Sly didn't seem to mind either.

 _"Ok, guys. Look around for the figurine. We're monitor the situation from here"_ Penelope told us.

We took a look around us in the big, crowded hall. It would take a while to find anything in here...

"Let's split up" Sly suggested, "We can find the thingy faster that way"

He was about to let go of my hand, but I gripped his firmer.

"Ah, ah, aah, Sly. We're married, remember" it felt so good to say that and afterwards show him my ring finger, "We can't split up" I yanked him back to me, "Or don't you love me anymore, _my darling?_ " I asked in overly syrupy manner. In reality, I hoped that he would pledge his undying love for me, but that was just a dream not meant to happen.

 _"For now, at least"_ I thought.

Sly just looked at me for a moment before rolling his eyes vigorously. He then proceeded to lead me through the hall and for the next thirty minutes we strolled around the large hall, pretending to admire all the other exhibits. I knew we would've probably found the figurine much faster if I'd let us split up, but I sure preferred it this way. There was no hurry and some of the pieces of art were actually quite fascinating.

But after we spent another half an hour perusing among the showpieces and didn't find the Mayan figurine, I was beginning to doubt it even was there.

Sly was on the same page as he led me to a shadowy corner to contact Bentley and Penelope.

"Bentley, Penelope, we can't find the figurine. Are you sure it's displayed here, tonight?" I questioned quietly.

 _"Yes, that's what it says on the website for this exhibition"_ Penelope replied.

"Double check just in case" I told them.

 _"Just a minute..."_

Sly and I used that minute to take an affirming look to make sure that we really hadn't missed anything. It was more of a reflex than anything really useful to do. The hall was still crowded and we could only see one or two of the displayable artifacts.

 _"Oh, no"_ suddenly came from our earpiece.

"What?", _"What?"_ four voices asked at the same time.

"There's been a last minute change in the exhibition" Penelope explained, "The Mayan figurine isn't displayed today!"

"What? Why?" I asked.

 _"There's something about-"_ Penelope began.

"Wait, wait, wait" Sly interrupted, "Do you think the figurine could still be here in the museum?"

A moment of silence.

 _"Yes"_ Bentley answered slowly, _"That would be probable"_

"Where exactly would it be, if that were the case?" I interjected, seeing where Sly was going with this.

 _"According to the schematics, it would be kept in the storage room next to the Head Curator's office"_ Bentley told after a moment.

"Is there a security camera in that room by any chance?" I inquired.

 _"Let me see..."_ Penelope said, _"Yeah, there is. I'll see if I can find the figurine"_

We waited patiently for another minute, until a small triumphant exclamation told us everything.

 _"It's there, sitting on a shelf!"_

"Let's go get it then" Sly said casually, already turning to leave.

"Is there anything we should know before going there?" I asked, grabbing the arm of my impatient "husband".

 _"There are guards patrolling around the hallways"_ Bentley immediately warned, _"Be careful"_

"Besides the obvious" Sly said sarcastically.

 _"The fastest way to get there is the door about twenty meters to the right from where you standing"_ Penelope informed us, _"And by right, I mean my right. To you, it's the direction Izzy's back is facing"_

Sly grabbed my hand again and we walked towards the door together. Making sure nobody was watching, we slipped in and Sly sadly let go of my hand and dropped the marriage act.

We found ourselves in a dimly lit hallway that split in three directions.

"Which way?" I asked Bentley and Penelope.

 _"Take the next right and then left. Then there're should be two doors almost next to each other. The storage room is the one on the left"_ Penelope guided us.

We followed her instructions to the two doors, of which we chose the one on the left. It was locked of course, but it didn't take Sly long to pick it. I told Penelope to shut down the camera for a minute, so that we wouldn't get recorded. The room behind the door was small and every wall covered with shelves. On them, there were some artifacts and that sort of things.

I found it odd that there was no tighter security in a room like this. You'd expect there to be some lasers or/and spotlights or at least a guard who'd regularly patrol near this room, but there was nothing stopping us from taking the Mayan figurine. Sly had spotted it sitting on one of the shelves and was just now replacing it with one of his infamous calling cards. The artifact he placed into his pocket. Good thing it wasn't that big.

"We got the figurine" he announced to both me and the rest of the gang, "Let's get out of here"

Penelope turned the camera back on once we were in the hallway again. We started making our way back to the main room to make a quiet and inconspicuous exit. But as always, the last step is usually when the ground falls out from underneath your feet...

"Who goes there!?" barked a voice from behind us.

Sly and I both stopped in our tracks.

 _"Guard"_ I thought.

We both turned to look and the light from his torch was clearly visible from around the corner. He must've heard us.

"What do we do?" I mouthed to Sly.

"Follow my lead" he mouthed back and I could've sworn that I saw a smirk cross his features before he pushed me against a wall.

I had no idea what he was doing, until I felt something brush against my neck.

 _"Oh, my God. Is he really going to...?"_

I got my answer soon enough when I felt Sly's lips return to my collum. It was amazing to feel his lips slowly explore their way from near my collarbone to the mandible. I couldn't help the content sigh that escaped my lips or the mixture of slight yelp and moan when Sly gently bit down on a soft spot. I hadn't quite expected that, but I was too far in the bliss to care now. Next, he moved up to nibble on my left ear's auricle. I managed to throw my hands loosely around his shoulder before sinking even further into the beguiling abyss.

And when the guard finally came from around the corner and interrupted us (even if it was only because of him Sly was doing this), I was _so_ ready to kill him!

"What are you doing here?" he demanded harshly.

Sly jumped back from me, pretending to be surprised. He was a really good actor when the situation called for it.

"W-What?" he stuttered.

"I asked, _what are you doing here_ " the guard repeated.

"Aren't we supposed to be here?" Sly asked with feigned obliviousness, cocking his head to the side a little.

"No, you are not. It's for _staff only_ "

"I'm so sorry, we didn't know that. We just needed a place to be private" he explained, moving close to me again.

"And I was just getting warmed up..." I purred in his ear, running a finger along his jawline.

We had both blushed during out little fake-out make-out, but upon hearing this, Sly's blush became even more intense and I was unable to stop the giggle that came from seeing him in such a state.

The guard apparently didn't find the situation as funny as I did as he shook his head and gave a frustrated sigh.

"Get out" he ordered.

With that, we scurried away and returned to the main room. The guard watched us as long as we were in the hallway to make sure that we would actually get out of there.

"That went well, don't you think?" Sly suddenly said.

I grabbed his hand and intertwined our fingers.

"It was lovely, _dear_ " I whispered, pretending to be assuming our act once again even if what I said had nothing to with that really.

Sly was about to reply something when the alarm, the actual alarm, not the fire alarm from our plan, went off and guards burst into the room from the several doors of the hall.

 _"You've been discovered! RUN!"_ Bentley shouted in our earpieces.

"This time, I think it's better we split up" Sly said, "I have the figurine. I'll lead them away"

And before I could even reply, he had ran away into the crowd. He had his cane in hand to further attract attention and make it easier for me to escape. I shook my head when he did very exaggerated somersault and grabbed a chandelier. He was being theatrical again.

(A/N if someone is wondering where Sly suddenly whipped the cane from then I can tell you that it's retractable. If you've ever read the comic where Sly goes to see McSweeney in prison)

After a moment of watching Sly do all kinds of acrobatics, I ran to the nearest door and run up the stairs behind it. A few minutes spent running and I found myself on the roof of the museum. It was late night already and there was breezy coldness in the air. Since no one was after me, I relaxed myself for a moment and inhaled the brisk night air. It felt refreshing after the crowded museum hall.

 _"Izzy, did you get out alright?"_ Sly asked from my earpiece.

"Yeah, no prob-"

But I didn't get to finish that sentence as something slightly wet suddenly covered my face and a stinging stench penetrated my nose. My head began to spin as the narcotizing sent filled my nostrils. I began to feel my consciousness slip away. My body grew limp and I could distantly hear my name being shouted by someone...

* * *

 **Sly's POV**

"Izzy, did you get out alright?" I asked into my earpiece.

I had just been chased by at least two dozens of guards, but giving them the slip was like a walk in the park for me. The Mayan figurine was still safe and intact in my pocket and the van was in sight. So, the only thing really missing was Izzy.

 _"Yeah, no prob-"_

Her voice was abruptly cut off and only muffled noises were heard afterwards. It sounded like she was struggling against someone.

"Izzy?! _IZZY!_ " I shouted into my earpiece.

There was no answer. All sounds of a struggle seized and silence reigned.

 _"Sly! What's happening?"_ Penelope asked.

"Izzy's not answering!" I exclaimed, "I heard her fighting someone. Something must've happened!"

My panic was slowly rising. What had happened to her? Who would want to attack Izzy. Could it have been a guard?

 _"No, she's too stealthy and almost every guard was chasing me"_ I thought.

"I got to go find her!"

 _"Wait, Sly!"_ Bentley exclaimed, _"You don't even know where to start looking. Let Penelope and I see if we can track her first..."_

I waited for four and a half painfully long minutes, during which anything could've happened to Izzy. My panic was rising rapidly as I involuntarily imagined every terrible thing that could've possibly befallen her.

 _"We found her Binoc-u-com! Go east for about 700 meters"_ Bentley instructed.

I was already moving when I heard Bentley say "east". Running as fast as I could, I came to the place in less than 30 seconds. I looked around frantically, trying to find anything that would tell me what had happened to Isabelle.

There was something on the ground. It looked exactly like...

"Izzy's Binoc-u-com!" I contacted Bentley, "I found Izzy's BUC, but no Izzy" I looked around helplessly, "She's not here..."

 _"Where could she be? What happened?"_ Penelope wondered, sounding very worried, _"Sly, are you sure there's nothing else there?"_

I took yet another look around as I said: "Yes, only the Bino- Wait..."

 _"What!?"_ everyone exclaimed.

I reached for the thing on the ground. It was a thick cloth with a strong smell emitting from it. It was slightly damp to the touch. I sniffed at it. The smell was very pungent and really made me feel lightheaded.

"There's a cloth here! It's damp with something to knock you out!"

 _"Oh, no!"_ Penelope exclaimed.

 _"But that means..."_ Murray began.

"...Izzy's been kidnapped" I finished for him.

 **Well, that's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. There will be more revealed about these mysterious kidnappers in the next chapter. Review and stuff...**


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Their separation

 **This chapter is going to do some timejumps back and forth so try not to get confused with them. I'll write the time there every time it changes.**

 **P.S. I wrote this flashback all at once and I got to say that it came out really well. At least I think it did...**

 _Flashback, Contessa's prison_

 _Time: A week and a half after the gang was captured in India by Contessa and Neyla_

 ** _Izzy's POV_**

 _Pain... That was the only thing I knew for the whole duration of my stay in Contessa's "rehabilitation center". The so called rehabilitation included, among other things, electric shock therapy, sound therapy and Contessa's own invention, heat therapy. But it was no therapy... It was torture! Brutal, inhuman, coldblooded torment whose only purpose was to bring pain and break the will and sanity of everyone who were unlucky enough to ever suffer this hellhole._

 _"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH" I screamed and screamed and screamed._

 _I screamed until my voice broke and I lost it completely. I felt nothing but pain as yet a new scorching iron was pressed against my arm. It burned the fur away and left deep black marks on everything it touched. They would scar too, I knew it. If I was lucky, I lost consciousness for a few moments, until I was brought back by powerful electric shock. And if all the "therapy" the prison had to offer wasn't enough, I couldn't even eat any of the food they gave me.  
_

 _I had studied Contessa's methods carefully with Bentley and we'd learned that beside breaking her patients by force, she also liked to use spice to make it easier for her to hypnotize them. That was the sound therapy I kept receiving every day. They were attempts to hypnotize me, but I didn't succumb to it. I hadn't eaten for four days and only thing I had dared to touch on my daily meals was the water and even that after carefully tasting it for any blended spice._

 _But I was testing my limits with this. I knew as well as Contessa did that I couldn't be without eating forever. All she had to do was wait. The only thing I could do was hope. Hope that things would be set right. Hope that our gang's brains would be able to set us all free again._

 _Bentley was my last and only hope._

 _And I clung to that hope with everything I got, refusing to let the shocks, the irons glowing red or the ear-breaking sounds of the hypno-boxes break my hold on the last straw I had to cling on to._

 _My daily treatment was about to begin again and I braced myself for everything. I was strapped to the familiar metal chair that had a bunch of wires connecting it to a large generator. In the room there was also a furnace, which currently held two iron hooks. Contessa herself was present as usual. In between my torture, she would try to convince me to reveal everything I knew about our loot and operations and gang members. She wanted to know everything._

 _"Why, Ms. Solus. Don't you want to be free again? Don't you want the pain to stop?" she asked, sounding very innocent and compassionate, "Wouldn't you already like to return to the raccoon you seem to care so much about?"_

 _"Go to hell!" I snapped with whatever voice I had left._

 _She was always bringing up Sly on our daily "conversations" and every time she did, I revealed a little more of my feelings for him to her. I didn't want to give away anything, but Contessa was an accomplished psychologist and it wasn't hard task to manipulate my clouded mind to gain useful information._

 _"My, my, what language" she sounded appalled, but I wasn't buying it, "Perhaps you need to be reminded of your place. Bring the iron!"_

 _One of her goons grabbed a glowing iron hook from the furnace and brought it to my left leg. With a nod from Contessa, it was pressed hard on my upper thigh._

 _I wasn't able to scream and I could only choke out a few quiet words._

 _"Sly... where are you?" I rasped._

 _I knew it made no sense to cry for Sly to help me. He was imprisoned here just as I was. Only he didn't need to face this kind of hell I did. I heard he'd been throw in "the hole". It was what the name implied, a hole, nothing more, nothing less. My guess was that he was just left there to wait for his turn. I only hoped he was smart enough not to eat the food..._

 _A pulse of electricity ripped through me and forced every rational thought out of my head. Only thing I felt was pain._

* * *

 _On the seventh day I had fallen unconscious from the heat therapy and when I came to, I noticed that I was back in my cell, lying on the cold floor. With the little strength left in my body, I dragged myself to the narrow cot and laid down there._

 _And I began crying. I cried for the unfair world that put me here and I cried for the hopelessness I felt, but most of all, I cried because I thought I would never, ever see Sly again._

"I will never see him again. I can't ever see his smile or hear another snarky remark from him" _I thought in despair,_ "And I will get never tell him how much I love him"

 _I cried endlessly. There was nothing else to do. I cried until I couldn't cry anymore. Everything felt so meaningless as I was slowly realizing that I had no chance of getting out here. I wanted to see Sly. It would be enough to keep me going. I wished that this was only a terrible nightmare I could just wake up from, but it wasn't. It was completely real and I couldn't bear it._

 _"Izzy" I heard someone say, but I ignored it._

 _I was just hearing things. It was not like_ he _could be here._

 _"Izzy" I heard said louder. I thought that I must've been becoming delirious from the pain and lack of nourishment._

 _I felt a hand land of my shoulder. I cracked my eyes open a little and saw a blurry, grey and blue figure._

 _"Isabelle" the figure said._

 _A pair of arms wrapped around me. I was lifted off the cot and pressed against something warm._

 _"I got her, Bentley. Blow it up!"_

 _"Sly?" I asked, not believing that he was there. How did he get here? When did he even get out of "the hole"?_

 _"I'm here, Izzy" he said, giving me the slightest squeeze, "And I'm getting you out of here"_

 ** _BOOM!_**

 _The whole room shook as the explosion annihilated a part of my cell's wall. Sly shielded me from the flying debris with his body and as soon as the dust was somewhat settled, he bolted out of the prison through the whole in the wall. The guards weren't quick enough to realize what was happening let alone catch us and we got away easily._

 _Sly took me to the safe house, where he laid me down on a soft bed and covered me up with a blanket._

 _"Sly..." I whispered, making him turn to me._

 _I slowly and with great difficulty lifted my hand to touch his face. I just wanted physical proof that he was really there and that this wasn't some twisted dream I would soon be forced to wake up from._

 _"Get some rest, Izzy" he said, stroking my cheek gently._

 _I closed my eyes and before passing out, I felt Sly take my hand and lay it down on the bed. He was about to let go, but I squeezed his hand with the last of my strength, begging him not to let go._

 _He didn't and when I next woke up, he was still there, holding my hand in his._

* * *

 _Time: The night before Cooper Gang's heist in the museum exhibition_

 **3rd person POV**

"You will guard all the exits from the museum. One of you needs to watch _the girl_ and keep the others updated. Once she is alone, _get her_ " the man with the cigarette ordered his four goons.

"What about the others?" one of them, a short, green frog, inquired.

"Don't let them see you. Kill anyone who gets in the way" told the leader.

The goons all chuckled, clearly very delighted that they didn't have to hold back if the circumstances so demanded.

* * *

(A/N So, here come the bad guys and my very suave way of introducing them. I feel like I failed totally. Their names are completely random. They mostly popped into my head)

 _Time: Next day evening, right after the alarm went off_

"She is going for the stairs" the rat reported to his walkie-talkie, "They lead somewhere near ya, Dorian"

Only an acknowledging grunt was heard as a response from the other end.

"You better get her or the boss'll kill us"

 _"Shut up, Walker. She's close"_ Dorian growled.

...

On Dorian's end, he was hearing rapid footsteps coming up the stairs. He pulled a piece of thick cloth and a medium sized medicine bottle. The sticker on the bottle read: "Chloroform". Opening the bottle, Dorian poured some of the liquid from it on the cloth. He watched the floor swung open from his hiding place and a young female raccoon emerged. She took a quick look around. Seeing no one was there, she turned her back on Dorian's hiding place and stood there, relaxed and unsuspecting.

This was the perfect opportunity for Dorian to leave his hideaway and silently creep behind her. She was having a conversation with someone through earpieces. Seizing the opportunity, Dorian crossed the last feet to the raccoon and pressed the cloth on her face. His other arm locked around her torso to prevent her from moving.

She struggled for a few brief moments, until the chloroform did its work. When she was finally unconscious, Dorian laid her on the ground to search her for any hidden weapons or something like that. He didn't find anything except strange binoculars, which were cast to the ground harshly and the earpiece, which he threw off the building.

 _"Dorian, the girl's friend is coming your way! He's moving fast! Get out of there!"_ Walker shouted from his walkie-talkie.

(A/N I don't really know why I wrote them to use walkie-talkies instead of earpieces)

Dorian slung the senseless raccoon girl over his shoulder and quickly made his exit. In his haste, he misplaced the cloth and it fell to the ground without him noticing anything.

He was forced to take the stairs that she had come from to make his escape. They lead him to the now empty hall. The whole exhibition had been closed down in record time and there was no one there. All the guards were outside the main entrance, making sure nobody entered.

Fortunately, Dorian knew where the back entrance was. Their getaway vehicle would be there waiting.

 _"Dorian got the girl. Get to back to the van"_ Walker instructed their comrades.

Two affirmative answers came from the other two members of the group and when Dorian arrived at their van, everyone else was already there waiting for him.

"You took your sweet ass time" quipped the short frog named Tom.

Dorian only glared at him as he climbed in the back of the van. He dropped the raccoon girl on the floor, not really caring what happened to her.

Walker and Tom sat in the front. Walker was driving and the last person of the group, very small otter named Melinda, was sitting in the back with Dorian. She was the tech expert of the four of them and was often left out of the action as her skills were needed elsewhere. This time was different though.

She didn't look like much, but looks could be deceiving. The little otter was just as deadly as any other of her comrades. She could handle a gun and had no problem with killing.

The ride to the abandoned mansion that served as their HQ, was spent in silence. No one really wanted to talk as they all shared a mutual dislike toward one another.

Upon arrival, Dorian tied the raccoon's hands and chucked her into the cellar of the old house and followed everyone else to the planning room.

"Well?" their leader asked.

"We got her, Sir" Melinda was the first to answer, "She's in the cellar behind locked door, tied up"

"Excellent. Now..." their leader, a tall, strongly built raccoon, turned to face them, "...get out of this house and don't come back until tomorrow morning"

No arguments were heard from the other people in the room. They were quick to exit the room and then the house. The leader of the group made his way to the lower level, where the cellar was located. He grabbed the key from the hook on the wall and unlocked the cellar door. After he entered, he made sure that the door was locked again. Finally laying his eyes on the unconscious raccoon girl in front of him, he pulled out a bottle of smelling salt and held it under her nose for a few seconds. Her eyes flew open and a fit of coughing came over her.

Once the coughing passed and she regained her bearings, her eyes wondered around the room until they settled on the other raccoon in there. She shook her head a little and looked again.

What she saw made her eyes widen.

"Hello, Isabelle" the other raccoon said.

 **Izzy's POV**

The last thing I remembered was feeling something pressed on my face and then going unconscious. I was woken up by terrible smell that pushed into my nose and forced back the consciousness. I was feeling very lightheaded and my eyes didn't work well as everything I saw was a black and gray blur.

Suddenly I felt something in my throat that made cough violently. My mouth was completely dry, but a bitter taste still lingered. I tried to move my hands, but they'd been tied tightly together with a rope.

Once my vision started to come back, I looked around for a moment, trying to see where I was. It took me a moment to notice the figure standing a little away from me. I shook my head and blinked a few times before looking again. What I saw made my heart stop and my eyes widen. A few feet from me stood very tall and bulky raccoon male, who I immediately recognized as the one person I would never forget.

"Hello, Isabelle" he said in quiet, neutral voice.

" _You_ " was all I could rasp out.

* * *

 **Sly's POV**

It was four days after Izzy's kidnapping. I was doing the thing I had done ever since that dreadful day: Running blindly in the city, hoping to find any sign of her. So far, my search had yielded no results. Bentley and Penelope were doing what they could from their computers and Murray was driving around in his van, sometimes checking the different location they found.

Usually, I made it there before him and left just when he got there. I was growing desperate. Why had they kidnapped Izzy? What did they want with her?

 _"Why her? Why not me or Bentley or Murray? Why did it have to be Izzy?"_

My stomach grumbled loudly, but I ignored it. Eating could wait, I had more important things to do. I hadn't in fact eaten barely anything during the whole three days. Sleep had also been avoiding me and I was growing more haggard and irritable with each day. But I pushed everything aside and focused on my search for Isabelle.

Going around another a corner, I heard my earpiece crackle to life and Penelope's voice reciting instruction: _"There's an old, abandoned hotel close to you, that's a good place to hide in. I'll send the coordinates to your Binoc-u-com"_

I didn't give any reply and just continued on my way with the BUC over my eyes.

Doing a few jumps, railwalks and paragliding, I was in front of the old building in no time. It was in terrible condition and didn't look like anyone would even want to hide in it. That, of course, didn't mean that no one would be hiding there, so I sauntered in, cane at the ready. All of my fatigue disappeared and was replaced by vigilance. My senses sharpened forcefully with adrenaline and my body tensed in anticipation.

The hotel wasn't that big and searching the ground floor didn't take much time. The second floor, however, was a little more complicated as it was full of rooms for the occupants of the hotel and even if there weren't that many of them, it still took more time than I would've liked.

I found nothing from the second floor, nor the third and fourth floors. It was just what it looked like from the outside: an abandoned hotel.

I gave a frustrated sigh. Another resultless search. But I refused to give up. I was going going to find Isabelle!

* * *

 **Bentley's POV**

Penelope and I were conducting our search for Isabelle from our computers. Thus far, we had failed to find anything good and the dozens of abandoned building around Paris had all proven to be dead ends. We were also trying to identify the kidnapper, but with only the cloth with small traces of chloroform and no fingerprints (A/N I don't know how fingerprints would actually work with their hands being covered in fur, but let's pretend that they do work. I also say hand since they don't really have paws as one could imagine), we weren't really getting anywhere. Penelope had analyzed the chloroform to see if it gave away something, but that too lead us nowhere. It was just normal compound of a few common elements, nothing more. We had also scanned Izzy's Binoc-u-com for fingerprints, but if there had been any, Sly had smudged them when he picked it up and brought here. We of course hadn't told him that as the fact that he might've destroyed the only lead on the kidnapper would probably break him completely.

Sly was already having hard time with this whole ordeal. He had taken Isabelle's kidnapping the hardest and it was really affecting him. He was hardly eating or sleeping and his cheery, relaxed demeanor had completely changed. He spent every waking hour in mad search for her. I knew that we had to talk to him about it. It couldn't go on.

As if on cue, Sly landed to the room through the open window.

"There was nothing in the hotel" he announced in blank tone, "What are we going to do next?"

Penelope was about to give him the answer, but I was quicker.

"We are going to talk" I declared strictly.

Bewilderment crossed Sly's face as he looked at me and then at Penelope.

"About what?"

"About you. You can't keep this up, Sly"

Now, his expression changed to an upset one.

"I am not going to stop until I find Izzy" he proclaimed stubbornly.

"Your body can't take that kind of exertion for long. It'll give in eventually" I argued.

"My body can take it. I am going to find her!" Sly protested loudly.

"Think rationally! Do you think you'll find her just by running around? This is one of the biggest cities in the world!" my voice was also rising.

"It doesn't matter, Bentley!" Sly's voice dropped, "I just... need to find her and bring her back"

I was about to continue, but Penelope decided to step in.

"Sly, I know how you feel, but ask yourself: What good are you to Izzy if you burn yourself out trying to find her?"

This finally seemed to get through to him. Sly sank to his knees in front of us and lowered his head into his hands. He somehow seemed weak and lost, like a little child in a strangle place. I wondered why Isabelle's kidnapping affected Sly so much. Of course we all were very worried, but it was like Sly was missing a part of himself and he couldn't function properly without it.

"You're right" he finally whispered and raised his head, but didn't look at us,"You're right..."

Then, without another word, Sly got up, exited the room and presumably went to his own to finally rest after four days of relentless search. I was still wondering about his odd behavior and thought that maybe Penelope might have some insight on the matter. She was usually better at reading people's feeling than I.

"Penelope?"

"Hmh?"

"What do you think is wrong with Sly? I mean, Izzy's kidnapping has affected all of us, but he seems to be taking it the hardest" I asked.

Penelope looked at me and then away. Her face adopted a contemplative expression for a moment. She fidgeted with the screwdriver in her hands. I was quiet during all this, patiently waiting for her answer, which she finally provided:

"I will tell you, Bentley, but first, you must promise that you won't talk to anyone about what I'm about to tell you" she gave me a serious look and I immediately nodded in agreement, "You can't talk to Murray or Sly and especially not Izzy"

I nodded again and she gave me a thankful smile.

"Have you noticed anything strange about Sly's and/or Izzy's behaviors lately?" Penelope asked.

I thought about it for a moment. Yes, they had behaved oddly ever since Sly came back. They seemed to be with each other all the time. One would always seek out the other. Usually it would be Izzy, but Sly did it too. Somehow I also got the strangest feeling that they didn't even notice it themselves.

"Yes, they have spent much more time with each other and they seem to be much closer than before Sly's amnesia act" I summarized.

"And can you think of any reason why that would be?" Penelope inquired with a raised brow.

I mulled the things over once again. I'd thought about it a few time, but I hadn't come up with any reasonable explanation for their strange change in behavior. What had happened between them to cause a change like that? How had Sly's absence affected Izzy or how had Sly's time without her affected him? I remembered how Izzy looked like when I had told her that Sly was actually faking his memory loss. The laugh had been so forced that a deaf man would be able to tell the difference. But none of this added up to anything close to reason.

"No" I replied curtly.

To my confusion, Penelope shook her head and let out slightly exasperated sigh. I also think I heard her mutter something that sounded like "men...".

"First Sly and now you. How thick can you both be?" it sounded almost like she was chastising me, "Isn't it obvious?" she spread her hands a little and looked into my eyes.

When she got no other reply than my now very confused face, another sigh was heard before she continued.

"Isabelle is in love with Sly" Penelope announced, "She has been for many years, but somehow she managed to not tell him"

She huffed the last part, as if it was annoying her, but my focus wasn't on that. Izzy is in love with Sly? That was an interesting hypothesis and it did make sense, given their resent hugging, cuddling, kissing etc. but Penelope had said that Isabelle hadn't told Sly yet.

"O...K..." I replied slowly, "What about Sly then? Where's he standing in all this? You just said that Izzy hasn't confessed to him yet"

"Yeah, that's the problem. She's still too afraid of getting rejected" she answered and rolled her eyes, " _But_ " she suddenly added, "I know for a fact that Sly's in love with Izzy too. He's just too thick to realize it!"

This all felt very confusing and I really didn't know what to say or do, but Penelope assured me to leave it to her, which I was more than glad to do. She understood the situation better than I did and she also knew this side of Izzy better than any of us, maybe even Izzy herself...

* * *

 _Time: Right after Izzy woke up in the cellar of the abandoned mansion_

 **Izzy's POV.**

"Hello, Isabelle" he said in quiet, neutral voice.

There, a few feet away from me, stood the one person I wouldn't ever be able to forget. The person who had ruined my life fifteen years ago. The damned man who had left an eternal mark on me with one fell swing of a knife. Not to mention the trauma left from the first two deaths I was forced to see as a little girl. My mother and my little sister... dead...

There stood Jack Solus, my father.

" _You_ " was all I could rasp out, "How are you here?"

"Now, now" he admonished, "Is that any way to greet you father?"

He sounded like he cared about the way I "greeted" him.

"Have you ever done anything the normal 'way' with your family?" I asked hatefully.

He chuckled at my quip, but there wasn't any real amusement in his eyes. They were cold and staring at me. The colour was same as mine. That was the only thing I'd gotten from him that hadn't caused something miserable to happen to me.

"I guess I haven't" he shrugged, making me even angrier.

"You _guess!_ " I screamed, "You _guess,_ you just murdered my mother and little sister and..." I tossed my hair back, revealing the scar on my left eye, "...left me scarred for life!"

"You know, I _did_ seriously wonder what happened to that eye"

He answered as if it was the weather we were talking about.

"I was rather hoping you'd lose the whole eye" he continued with a contemplative tone as he leant a little closer, "But I guess you can't have everything"

I was staring at him, mouth slightly agape.

 _"He's mad"_ I decided right then and there.

"And about your _dear_ mother and little sister...don't worry about them" he said in the most annoying way, before turning dead serious, "You'll join them... eventually"

With that, he turned and left me there, still bound by the ropes. At least they hadn't gagged me. That was a very good thing as I screamed every possible insult I could come up with after the raccoon who was my father.

* * *

 _Time: During Bentley and Penelope's conversation about Sly_

 **Sly's POV**

I dragged myself to my room and collapsed on the bed. I hadn't really noticed how tired four days of running around and not eating well had made me. I was completely drained. But I would've gone on for another four days if it meant finding Izzy and bringing her home.

After I'd gotten some sleep, I would continue to look for her. And I would look until I found her.

I tried to sleep, but my thoughts always drifted back to Izzy. Was she alright? Why had she been kidnapped?

 _"Where is she?"_ I desperately questioned.

I had to find her! I was going to find her!

 _"I'm going to find you, Isabelle. I promise"_

 **Review and stuff...**


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Their captivity

 **This chapter's flashback is going to be about how Sly and Izzy met Bentley and Murray. As you can see, it's three years after they met each other. I chose to write it like this because I want that Isabelle is the one who has known Sly for the longest and, in a way, understands him the best.**

 _Flashback, Happy Camper's orphanage_

 _Time: Three years after Sly and Izzy first met_

 ** _Izzy's POV_**

 _During the three years after I met Sly, Happy Camper's orphanage didn't change a bit. It was still dark and miserable place full of children without parents. Mrs. Puffin still reigned with her iron rule, Sly and I stuck together and started going to lessons. Sly didn't like any of the schooling we received, except math. He was good with math, surprisingly. Much unlike me, I sucked at it, but I was good with some subjects, mostly those I liked. These included history and art. Everything else was easy or hard, often depending on the subject._

 _We also practised our stealth during the tests. If it was a math test, we would quietly switch papers and Sly would end up doing both of the tests. If it was a history test, we did it the other way around and I would do our tests. With all the other tests, we would pass notes with the correct answers written on them. We never got caught doing this as we had learned to copy the other's handwriting. Of course, we still had to be careful. Mrs. Puffin didn't like cheaters and we didn't want to find out what punishment was in store for us if we ever got caught._

 _There were some new kids coming in the orphanage every now and then, but we didn't really befriend any of them. In my case, I didn't need any other friends than Sly and he always said that he was just fine with me. It made me smile to know that I had such a good friend._

 _But one day, that all changed._

 _I was walking down a hallway with Sly. We were coming from another scolding session from Mrs. Puffin's office when we heard someone shouting and someone else responding with mocking laughter. Normally, we didn't pay attention to the other kid's bickering, but this time, for some reason, we decided to go check it out._

 _Going around the corner, we saw a very small turtle who looked like he might've been our age or a little younger. With him was a pink hippo, also seemingly close to our age. In front of them was a warthog taller than all of us. He had something in his hand that the turtle desperately tried to get back._

 _"Give them back!" he squeaked in a weak voice._

 _The warthog laughed and dangled the eyeglasses, that's what they were, close to the little turtle. He tried to snatch them, but wasn't quick enough.  
_

 _"What do you think you're doing?" I asked the warthog, who immediately turned to us._

 _"None of your business"_

 _"I think he's bullying them" said Sly matter-of-factly._

 _"What if I am?! What are you two runts gonna do about it, huh?" the warthog sneered at us._

 _He was a little taller than we were, but somehow I got the impression that he wasn't very bright. I gave Sly a clandestine glance and he returned it. We had developed a sort of bond and we understood each other quite well through it. Although, sometimes we got out signals crossed._

 _The warthog bully was going to say something, but was cut short by my fist... in his face. Now, I wasn't a violent kid, but sometimes the situation called for some more... drastic measures._

 _The warthog, whatever his name was, fell to the ground with a wail of pain. His nose was bleeding... and it did appear to swell a little already. I didn't feel bad. He had probably left many kids in similar condition._

 _"Hey! I was about to do that" Sly whined, but I saw that he was smirking._

 _I winked at him and saw that the turtle's eyeglasses were in his hand. Good thing he caught them before they hit the floor._

 _"How does it feel to get beaten by a girl?" Sly jeered at the bully._

 _The warthog jumped up and run away. Sobs were heard before he disappeared behind the corner. I laughed after him before turning to the turtle and the hippo. Yes, I was being mean, but hey, it's not like he was any better._

 _"Are you guys OK?" I asked._

 _"Y-Yeah, thanks" the turtle replied, "I'm Bentley"_

 _He stuck his hand out for me and I shook it firmly._

 _"Isabelle. And this is..." I looked at Sly._

 _"Sly" he introduced himself and shook Bentley's hand as well, "Here are your glasses"_

 _He gave Sly a thankful look and took the glasses. Before putting them back on, Bentley checked them for any damage. Apparently he found none as all he did was wipe them a little with a handkerchief._

 _The hippo, who until now had been cowering behind Bentley, stood up and looked at the little bloodstain on the floor. He then quickly looked away, seemingly becoming a little nauseous._

 _"This is Murray" Bentley introduced his friend to us, "He's a little shy"_

 _"Nice to meet you" Sly smiled at him and offered his hand, "I'm Sly"_

 _The hippo, Murray, looked at his extended hand hesitantly, but grabbed it nonetheless. A small smile made its way to his face when they shook hands. Next, I offered my hand to him and he took it without any hesitation. Maybe the fact that I just floored a warthog bigger than any of us had escaped him._

 _"Isabelle" I gave my curt introduction._

 _"Thanks for saving us" Murray said quietly._

 _"No problem" I nodded._

 _"Yeah, we're happy to help!" Sly said eagerly._

 _Then a slightly awkward silence fell upon us and we just looked at each other. I decided to break it as I thought of a good question._

 _"So, how long have you guys been here?" I inquired. I didn't remember seeing them around the orphanage._

 _"We got here yesterday" Bentley answered._

 _"Oh" well, no wonder I hadn't seen them before then, "I've been here for four years"_

 _"I only three"_

 _We didn't ask each other why we were sent here. That was the unspoken rule among us orphans. I was about to go and leave Bentley and Murray to whatever they were going to do, but Sly grabbed my arms when I moved._

 _"Do you guys wanna be friends with us?" he asked the two._

 _They were both surprised and looked at each other before looking back to us. Bentley was apparently the one who did the talking as he once again responded._

 _"Sure" he said with a smile._

 _I was looking at Sly questioningly, to which he responded with a shrug._

 _"You can never have too many friends"_

 _Guess I can't argue with that, I thought._

 _Little did I know how fortunate we were to find a pair of such friends._

* * *

 **Izzy's POV**

I was sleeping when the cellar door was flung open loudly.

"Get in there!" one of my father's goons growled.

A second later, something, or rather, someone, landed on me very painfully. I was all bruised and mauled. That was what my father's called a "welcome-home-gift". I had been tormented almost every day I'd been here. Sometimes I was beaten by my father's goons, but that was really nothing compared to the other torture I received.

My father would come and talk to me sometimes. He always made sure to be drunk enough to scare me. He knew the effect it had on me and enjoyed it. The worst thing, however, were the knives. He always brought a knife with him and threatened and frightened me to tears. And I couldn't do anything about it. It was like a phobia towards him. He using it to slowly drive me insane with fear.

The sense of time was completely lost to me. The cellar room I was chained in was wide, dark and completely windowless, so it wasn't easy to keep track of time.

 _"What in blazes...?"_ I thought as I pushed whoever was on me away.

They had thrown someone in here with me? That was odd. I rubbed the sleep from my eye and opened them.

The first thing they registered was the blue peasant cap that had fallen on my lap. I would've known that cap anywhere. I picked it up in my hands and looked at it very carefully. If the cap was here, then that would mean-

My pondering was cut short by a groan coming from next to me where I had pushed the person who was thrown on me. My head snapped in the direction of the voice and that's when I saw him.

Sly! Sly was here! How did he get here?

"Sly!" I exclaimed.

I pulled him closer to me again. My every muscle hurt from the movement, but I ignored it. Sly groaned again when I moved him and that was when I realized how terrible he looked. I gasped. He was looking even worse than I was. His clothes were torn and there were several bruises and cuts all over his body. He looked barely conscious when I laid his head on my lap.

"Sly?" I repeated more quietly, stroking his cheek.

"Izzy? I-Is that you?" he replied weakly.

His other hand moved and tried to feel it's way to me. I grabbed it and squeezed it tightly, reassuringly.

"Oh, Sly, what did they do to you?" I looked at his cuts and bruises again. The sight made me shudder.

"I... almost found... you" he explained feebly, "But they... got me first"

"I knew you'd come for me, Sly" I whispered, giving his hand another squeeze, "I knew you'd come..."

"I never gave up looking"

"You found me. Now you can rest" I pressed a small kiss on his forehead and continued to caress his cheek.

He didn't reply, but his breath soon turned slower and more even, his eyes closed completely and I knew that he'd be sleeping for a while. I continued fondling his cheek and began feeling sleepy as well. It was probably still night and I didn't sleep well on the cold stone floor. Resting my head against the stone pillar I was chained to, I closed my eyes and relaxed my body. During the first day they'd removed the ropes and replaced them with a chain around my ankle. At least I could move my hands and walk again.

I listened to Sly's breathing for a moment, until I fell asleep again to dream about the raccoon resting on my lap.

* * *

 _Time: Two hours earlier_

 **Sly's POV**

It had been two weeks since Izzy was kidnapped and I was a wreck. I couldn't sleep and I barely ate. Bentley had injected me with a sedative twice and told me strictly that there wouldn't be a third time. He had tricked me to it, knowing that I wouldn't let him do it.

I was again running on the rooftops of Paris, trying to find something, anything. This was another "habit" that Bentley and Penelope wanted me to break. They always said that chances I'd find anything were one in a million, but I couldn't just sit in the safe house and wait patiently while they went through different location that Izzy _might_ be kept in. I needed to do something, if only just to keep my thoughts occupied.

 _"Sly, there's a new location for you"_ Bentley suddenly said, _"A crumbling mansion on the other side of the city"_

I sighed loudly. It would take an hour to get to the other side of Paris on foot.

* * *

An hour later, I was standing in front of the mansion Bentley had told me about. It looked just looked just like every other building I'd checked during the last seventeen days: Abandoned, dilapidated and ready to collapse, but those places were the best hideouts. I walked in cautiously, ready for anything.

The inside of the building was covered in dust and with quick look, it didn't look like anyone had been there for some time. But looks can be deceiving, so I continued further into the mansion.

* * *

 **3rd person POV**

Melinda was sitting comfortably in front of her computer when suddenly she got an alert.

"Someone has entered the mansion" she immediately announced to her partners in crime, who were all in the same room with her.

"Who?" Walker asked, pulling out a gun.

After a moment of typing, Melinda was looking through a security camera in the entrance hall.

"It's the other raccoon" she said.

"What 'other raccoon'?" Walker asked, sounding annoyed.

"The other raccoon that the girl was with when they robbed the museum, you idiot" Melinda snapped, "And the boss wants him alive" she continued, giving Walker's gun a look.

"Fine" he huffed, replacing the gun with a knife, "Let's go get him!"

He moved to the door, but when no one followed, he turned to look back at the others in the room.

"What are you sitting there for? Let's get him!"

Everyone glared at him.

"Why do you have to be so damn stupid?" Melinda shook her head and sounded exasperated.

"What?! The boss wants him, so let's go get him!" Walker shouted indignantly.

"Pipe down!" Tom snapped, "He'll hear ya"

"The boss's orders were to get him if he got in the way" Melinda explained, "Is he getting in the way by walking into the building and finding nothing?"

Her arms were crossed and an eyebrow cocked as she gave Walker another look.

"No" he grumbled.

"So, we wait here and use the cameras"

"What if-" Walker started.

" _And_ if he finds anything, then you can go get him, but _alive_ "

Putting his knife away, he crossed his arms and sat down.

* * *

Jack Solus was sitting in the room with the broken window when his walkie-talkie crackled.

 _"Sir, the other raccoon has entered the mansion"_ Melinda announced.

"Has he found anything?"

 _"Not yet, but he will soon"_

"Well, in that case, it's time my daughter got some company in her lonely cell" Jack Solus announced, "Go get that fool"

 _"Yes, sir"_

* * *

 **Sly's POV**

I had taken the stairs to the second floor of the mansion which I now investigated carefully. The dust had been stepped on there. None of it was found in the middle of the hallways as all had been blown to the side by the whiffs of air coming from people walking.

That meant there was, or at least had been, someone here.

I tensed in anticipation and raised my cane a little higher. Someone could be here waiting for me. I continued forward and came to a point where the hallway intersected with another one.

That's when...

"Now!"

"Grab him!"

Three figures jumped on me! I caught a glimpse of knife coming towards me, but with my quick reflexes, I was able to hook my cane on the attacker's wrist and yank him forwards right to my fist. His nose let out a crunching sound and blood spilled all over. He fell down on the floor and didn't get up.

But I wasn't given a victory cheer as I saw a pair of fist with brass knuckles rushing at me from the corner of my eye. Ducking and kicking at the same time, the frog who was attacking me was flung backwards to the wall behind him. He was small, like Raleigh so I had no trouble kicking him around.

The final attacker came at me. He was a bear, about the same size as Murray, but clearly much meaner. He was more careful than his two friends and didn't rush at me like they had. I was wary too, he was clearly smarter the other two.

We glared at one another, sizing up and evaluate the risks and advantages. He was big and I was quick. He was strong and I was agile. Those didn't seem too grim odds.

Finally, he threw a punch at my face, but I dodged it easily. That one move was enough for me to analyze his fighting style. His blows were strong, but slow. I could dodge them with ease, but if I slipped, it would hurt. Taking advantage of my superior agility, I jumped onto a table and from there hooked to a chandelier. Hanging there, I flung myself high and soared down, kicking him in the face.

I had hoped that it would at least baffle him a little, but when I turned back to look at my opponent, he just growled at me and looked annoyed. He charged at me and I jumped over him, hitting him in the face again with my cane. It didn't seem to do anything this time either, except make him angrier.

 _"This isn't going well"_ I thought as he charged at me again.

I tried to jump over him like last time, but he was had guessed that I would try it. I couldn't stop the alarmed yelp when I felt a grip cutting off the circulation from my tail. I was jerked from the air and slammed to the floor. It hurt like hell. The air was knocked out of my lungs and I was left gasping on then floor. Then, my opponent moved quickly, more quickly than I'd expected, and picked me up from the floor and squeezed with almost bone crushing strength.

I shouted in pain as I felt my rib cage being pressured. Luckily, none of the ribs were broken. Then he suddenly stopped squeezing, though he kept a firm grip on me, preventing me from escaping.

Footsteps were heard. They were slow and calm footsteps. The person walking obviously wasn't in a hurry to get to us. The bear holding me immediately tensed and stood up straighter. I turned my head in the direction of the noise.

Slowly, someone emerged from the shadows of the hallway and came to stand in front of us.

"Dorian. We need our _guest_ alive" the raccoon chastised. He was a raccoon, tall and bulky one. I met his gaze. There was something in his eyes. Something cold and unforgiving.

(A/N yeah, Dorian is a bear)

"Sir" he replied.

I tried to struggle, but Dorian's grip was firm and forcing me to remain motionless. My whole torso hurt from the movement, but I ignored that for now.

"Ah, Mr. Cooper" the other raccoon said in pretended delight, "I would say it's nice to meet you, but that would be a lie"

I glared at him in response and continued to struggle, to which he just chuckled.

"Try to behave now" he said nonchalantly, "Isabelle's well-being depends on you cooperation"

I immediately froze. Izzy was here! They had her!

"What have you done to her!?" I demanded.

The raccoon shrugged.

"Nothing much" he said, "I've visited her every now and then and otherwise my employees have kept her company"

His tone remained full of nonchalance, but I would've been stupid if I believed that what he said was the whole truth.

"If you've hurt her-" I started.

"What if we have?" he asked, quirking a brow. Suddenly his voice turned cold, "What will you do if we have?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but he cut me off again.

"Save you meaningless threats. You won't be around to carry them out"

He turned around and went to the two other goons I'd knocked down.

"Get up!" he snapped, kicking both of them.

The frog and the other goon, a rat, slowly stood up. They looked a little beaten up, especially the frog who'd received my kick.

"Who are you?" I blurted out.

The unknown raccoon didn't turn around when he answered me.

"My name is Jack Solus. You might've heard of me"

I knew that name. Izzy hadn't spoken it much, but I knew it.

" _You're_ Izzy's _father_ " I said, flabbergasted, " _You_ gave her that scar!"

I struggled more vigorously. Dorian had lowered his guard and he was surprised when I suddenly tried to break loose. Before he could tighten his grip, I stumped my heel on his instep. My boots' heels had been modified by Bentley, they were solid and sharp like metal. I dug it on my captor's instep and he let out a painful yelp.

That loosened his arms enough to break away and bolt towards Izzy's father. I was just about to get to him when I was intercepted by the frog and rat. They both jumped on me and before I could stop them, they gave several cuts and bruises.

Before I was able to push the two back, I was grabbed again by Dorian and this time, he held me so tight that it hurt. The other two pulled out guns and pressed them on my temples.

"Don't do that again, Mr. Cooper" Jack Solus said, "That would be most... _unhealthy_ for my daughter and yourself"

"You're not her father" I snarled, "You have no right to call Izzy your daughter"

" _Izzy?_ " he laughed, "You have a nickname for her? How pathetic"

He continued laughing until he pointed at the stairs.

"Throw him in the cellar"

And so, I was dragged down to the basement and thrown into the cold cellar. The trio took their time. First, they took my cane, binoc-u-com and earpiece. After that, they made sure that I knew how unhappy they were about the fact that I'd beaten them and they weren't allowed to kill me...

* * *

 _Time: Present_

 **Still Sly's POV**

I woke up from my pain-induced sleep and sat up. That proved to be a mistake. Pain shot through every inch of my body and I quickly leaned my shoulder on the stone pillar next to me. Taking a few deep breaths, I slowly rotated my body, so that my back was resting against the pillar.

Again, breathing and waiting for the pain to subside, I heard something from next to me. I turned my head and saw Izzy. A sense of accomplishment flooded over me. I finally found her! The sentiment was dampened, though, by the fact that now we were both here, captured.

My attention returned to Izzy, when I heard her draw a loud, shivering breath. I took her hand. It was trembling slightly. She was cold! I noticed it now myself, too. This cellar was very chilly. Another shivering breath and I had pulled her against me. I wasn't very warm either, but maybe we'd get a little warmer together.

I lowered my head to rest on hers and fell asleep again.

* * *

 **Izzy's POV**

For the first time during my captivity here, I woke up warm and not shivering. I wondered why, until I looked up. Sly had moved during the night and he was holding me against himself. I smiled at his sleeping face. He looked handsome, just like always. I didn't want to return to the harsh reality just yet, so I pressed my body back against him and closed my eyes.

The moment would've been perfect if someone hadn't just then opened the door and sneered: "Aww, don't you two look just perfect together"

Sly had woken to the sound of the door and he was immediately wide awake and staring at my father, who had just entered. The bear, Dorian was with him as usual. He was drunk and I saw a knife in his hand. I was already trembling violently at the sight. I thanked God that Sly was there now. He held me protectively and I buried my face into his chest.

My father laughed mockingly.

"Does he make you feel better?" he cooed, "I admit, he is something. It's a small miracle to break away from Dorian's 'deathly embrace'" he laughed after saying this, even if it was true, he was just deriding Sly.

But I didn't answer. I was too afraid.

 _"Sly's here"_ that's what I kept repeating in my head, hoping that it would get me through this.

"Dorian" my father suddenly said.

"Sir?"

"Be a good goon and chain Mr. Cooper to that other pillar over there" he said.

"No..." I whimpered and clung to Sly more, "Sly, don't go, _please don't go_ "

I started babbling things hysterically when I was pried off of him. Sly tried to resist, but he was still too weak and got dragged away and chained to the other pillar.

Now that he was there, my father came to me. He had the knife in hand and he slowly brought it closer and closer to me. I started hyperventilating and tried to lean away, but the pillar was behind me and I didn't get past it. The knife was hovering above my right eye, the one without a scar.

"How would you like both of your eyes scarred?" my father asked softly.

He was getting some sort of twisted pleasure out of this. He enjoyed tormenting me and exploiting my childhood trauma.

"Leave her alone!" Sly growled.

"Quiet!" Dorian snapped, punching him in the face.

"Well, how's it gonna be, _Izzy?_ " he mocked.

"Don't-!" Sly started, but Dorian punched him before he could even finish.

The knife pressed against my skin. That's when I screamed, snapped and panicked. Fear took over and I couldn't do a thing. Every horrible memory started replaying in my head. My mother and sister, dead in their own puddles of blood. Looking in the mirror for the first time and seeing the scar. Finding myself alone in the orphanage. Finally realizing that life wasn't fair and world wasn't forgiving.

I don't know how long he tortured me like this today, but once he was finally done and on the door, about to leave, he turned and said: "Oh, but I do feel bad, leaving my daughter like this. Dorian, please move Mr. Cooper back to his original place. Make sure he is chained"

Once Sly was again next to me and we were left alone, he pulled me to him and squeezed hard. I cried for a long time. I was so glad, he was here. I was already wondering how I made it here without him.

Sly too had such an effect on me, but it was a positive effect. I loved him and I guess he loved me as well. Just being with him helped me to cope with this whole ordeal.

"It's over, Izzy" Sly kept repeating, "I'm here"

 _"Yes, you're there_ _Sly"_ I thought, _"Thank you for being there"_

 **Well, I hope you liked it. Review and stuff...**


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Their captivity, Part 2

 **Nothing particular in this chapter. Just torture, S &I moment and Bentley-Penelope duo making a plan to rescue their friends and a cool flashback!**

 _Flashback, Australian outback_

 _Job: Operation Moon Crash_

 ** _The first ever Sly's POV'ed flashback_**

 _She had grown into a monstrous, violent and angry giant and she was after us! Carmelita's mercenaries were attacking and we were desperately trying to think of a way to get the damned mask off of her._

 _"She's too huge!" Murray exclaimed in panic, "We can't outrun her in the truck!"_

 ** _"We must hurry!"_** _the Guru exclaimed, also in panic._

 _"This is bad!" Bentley bemoaned, "We need a new strategy and fast! Force just isn't working"_

 _"Time to stop running and deal with the real problem" I said, trying to put as much confidence as I could muster to my voice, "Pry off that Mask of Dark Earth and maybe we'll get back the Izzy we all know and love"_

 _"And how are we gonna pull that off?" Murray asked doubtfully._

 _"Well..." I tried to think of a way to get the mask off her._

 _I took another look at Izzy. She was gigantic, as was the mask. I also noticed that her familiar blue eyes had taken on a disturbing, red hue. I turned my head away quickly, not wishing to have a memory of Izzy in that kind of state._

 _"You're the climber" Bentley suddenly said, "I'm sure you'll find enough surface to grab onto on her"_

 _Somehow "grabbing onto" Izzy gave me some uncalled mental images, but I shook them off and shrugged._

 _"That's not a crazy idea" I said slowly._

 _"Oh, yeah... it's crazy!" Murray exclaimed._

 _"You got a better idea?" I demand with some indignation._

 _"Yeah!" he replied with confidence, "But we'd need a giant, fighting robot!"_

 _I chuckled._

 _"Sorry, gonna have to go with the climbing" I announce._

 _Trying to avoid being shot, I ran to my gigantic friend and grabbed onto her bootlace. I hauled myself upwards, toward the seam of her jeans. That would be grabbable enough to climb. I scaled the seam all the way to her waist. Oddly enough, she didn't do anything to stop me from approaching, a fact of which I was very grateful._

 _I was now hanging from Izzy's belt and trying to find a route to her face. She was wearing a tank top and it didn't provide me any way to get higher. Looking around, I spotted Izzy's hair hanging very low, almost on her waists level._

"It might work" _I thought in my mind._

 _Carefully maneuvering myself around her waist, I slowly reached Izzy's tail. I was able to perch on it, although I had to lean my back against hers. Once I'd made sure my balance was good and I wouldn't slip off, I looked up. Izzy's hair was hanging down, which I found odd, she usually had her hair on a braid or something like that. Just to keep it out of the way._

 _I reached up and grasped a few strands of her hair in my hands. In her enlarged state, her hair was very thick and was easy to use as rope. So, with that, I climbed the rest of the way along Izzy's back and eventually jumped off of her hair and landed on her right shoulder._

 _That was when she apparently finally noticed me. I could see her hand rising and readying to squash me like a little bug that I was to her. I acted quickly, leapt off from her shoulder and latched my cane of one the first hook of the mask. Izzy let out a roar and smacked me away, but in doing so, she also ripped the hook off the mask._

 _I paraglided down and smirked when I saw the mask's latch on the ground close to where I landed._

"Now, for the other side..." _I thought._

 _I repeated the climbing process. Climbing along Izzy's bootlaces, jean's seam, her back, I was soon hanging on the left hook and waited for the inevitable strike. It came soon enough and I was again thrown into the air, but my paraglider saved me from being killed._

 _The same couldn't be said about the mask, though. It was torn off by the impact and lack of latches. Izzy had hit hard and the mask was flown away from us. Seconds later, Carmelita's mercenaries began firing at it. The mask looked like it was writhing in pain before all of them, the mask and the mercenaries alike, vanished in an explosion of green smoke._

 _When I finally landed on solid ground again, I immediately ran to Izzy. She looked unconscious and had shrunk back to her normal size. The others came running as well just as I was picking her up from the ground._

 _"Is she going to alright" I asked, kneeling in front of the Guru._

 _He laid a hand on Izzy's forehead and mumbled some incoherent words with closed eyes._

 ** _"Yes. All the traces of darkness are gone. She will be alright after resting"_** _he assured us._

 _"Thank God..." I whispered and hugged her close._

 _Then, suddenly a voice shouted from behind us and I groaned._

"Not now..."

 _"Freeze, thieves!"_

 _Now, normally, I would've been beyond delighted to hear that voice, but not now. Seriously! Not now! We couldn't escape with unconscious Izzy and there was nowhere to hide. It was one vast plain to almost every direction. The truck was also out of question as we wouldn't make it there in time before we'd get shocked badly. I handed Izzy to Murray who took her with shaking hands. If the situation had been different, I would've probably laughed at both Murray and Bentley for being so terrified of Carmelita._

 _"Carmelita-" I started, walking towards her._

 _"That's Inspector Fox to you, Cooper!" she interrupted._

 _"Inspector Fox" I repeated irritably, "Izzy's hurt, could you please not arrest us right now"_

 _It was a weak attempt to talk us out of it, one I almost knew not to work._

 _"Are you seriously trying to_ talk _yourself from being arrested?" she asked annoyedly, giving me a despising look._

 _"Are you seriously going to take advantage of our moment of weakness?" I countered._

 _She did have a sense of honour and I hoped that this would be enough to appeal to that._

 _"Like you haven't done that before!" she spat, making me cringe slightly. This possibility also crossed my mind..., "Do you still remember India or that volcano in Russia? What would you call those?"_

 _"You weren't hurt! I just had to make sure you couldn't get after us right away!" I exclaimed desperately._

 _Honestly, I hadn't enjoyed cuffing and leaving her to the volcano, but what else could've I done? I had to make sure the gang got away safely._

 _"I almost starved to death there! Do you know how long I had to wait for a rescue?!" she shouted at me, "Two days! I was there for two_ fucking _days! It was a miracle I survived that heatstroke!"_

 _I didn't know what to say anymore. She obviously wouldn't see things my way, which I did understand, but I really didn't want to be sent to jail. I tried desperately to think of something I could do about the situation._

 _"If that was all, then hands up you all!" Carmelita yelled, pointing her pistol at us more forcefully._

I, Bentley and Murray raised our hand, me reluctantly, Murray and Bentley... not so reluctantly.

 ** _"Ahem!"_** _the Guru suddenly cleared his throat. He had appeared out of nowhere next to Carmelita._

 _"Whuh!? Who are you?" she asked._

 ** _"I am only known as the Guru. I am the guardian of these sacred sites and I am also trained in the ways of the Dreamtime"_** _he introduced himself, **"Is there truly no other way to settle this ordeal?"** he asked, referring to Carmelita's pointed gun._

 _"They are all wanted criminals and it is my duty to bring them to justice" Carmelita declared._

 _I rolled my eyes. She always said the same thing._

 ** _"I'm afraid, I cannot allow that. My student is amongst them and I hold each of them in high regard"_** _the Guru proclaimed seriously._

 _Carmelita was obviously taken aback by such words, but she was quick to regain her composure._

 _"Sir, I am going to have ask you to let me do my job" she said firmly, "Or else I will be forced to arrest you as well"_

 _I watched with keen eyes as the Guru shook his head in mild frustration. He was clearly disappointed to the current state of affairs. Then he did something unexpected. He raised his staff and began to chant in the Dreamtime's ancient language. The moonstone attached to his staff glowed bright and Carmelita looked at it, alarmed._

 _"What are you-" she started, but didn't finish the sentence._

 ** _"Henceforth, you shall do as I bid you"_** _the Guru spoke with strange echo entering his voice._

 _"I shall do as you bid me" Carmelita repeated monotonously._

 ** _"You do not wish to arrest these people"_**

 _"I do not wish to arrest these people" Carmelita continued to repeat._

 _ **"These aren't the thieves you're looking for"** (A/N Couldn't resist...)_

 _"These aren't the thieves I'm looking for"_

 _I watched with mouth agape as Carmelita was hypnotized by our gang's newest member. Next he told her to go back wherever she came from and after that snap out of the hypnosis._

 _She repeated obediently and started jogging away from us. I was too amazed to even worry about her getting to wherever she was going, safely._

 _The Guru turned around and looked at my face._

 ** _"Come now. Surely you've heard of my abilities to influence one's mind"_** _he chuckled, **"Her mind was tired and she was angry, not a good combination if you wish to resist mind control"**_

 _It was only then I realized that Carmelita was gone and we could get out of here. I went back to Murray and he handed Izzy back to me. We all made our way to the big truck and drove to the hideout. We loaded our stuff into the truck and drove away._

 _I made sure that I was with Isabelle until she woke up from her state of unconsciousness. She did wake up in time and I explained to her what had happened. She laughed weakly when I told her about Carmelita and I couldn't help but to smile a little as well. I was still worried about her, thought._

 _"I'm still feeling tired" Izzy said._

 _"Then you should go back to sleep"_

 _I pushed her head back to the pillow and she closed her eyes. Before that, however, she grabbed my hand and pulled me to an embrace._

 _"Thank you, Sly, for saving me" she mumbled into my ear._

 _After letting go, she fell asleep almost instantly. I stared at her for a few moment before replying: "Any time, Izzy, any time..."_

* * *

 **Let's continue with Sly's POV**

"Or how about I fashion a stylish mark on your forehead? Wouldn't that be nice?" asked the madman with a knife who'd come to us every day for the last three days.

Jack Solus was taking every pleasure in torturing his daughter. Izzy was in an unnatural state of terror every time he came close to her with a knife and a smell of alcohol about him. He hadn't done anything to her physically, but I don't think that was his intention at all. He was tormenting her mentally and it was far worse than any physical damage he could've inflicted.

And the worst part of it all was that I was unable to stop him or otherwise do anything about it. He had that bear, Dorian, with him whenever he came and I was always moved away from Izzy. They never even touched me, but they knew that seeing Izzy suffering like that was ten times worse. I would've gladly taken anything they had to throw at me if it meant that they would leave Izzy alone. At least they moved me back afterwards. I was the only thing keeping her sanity intact in all her torment. I was the last thing she had to hold on to in this maelstrom of anguish and pain.

It was one of those times again. Her father had just left and I was chained next to her. I was holding her again and she was still slightly hyperventilating and crying into my chest. I felt a bit contradicted about doing this. I had realized that it was just a way to keep Izzy from completely losing it, meaning that her father could keep taking pleasure in mentally abusing her. On the other hand though, I had to do it, because I didn't want to loose her like that. It was selfish in a way, but I just couldn't let her go like that.

I knew Bentley and Penelope were looking for us or more accurately, they knew exactly where we were and were now planning on how to get us out. They were probably struggling to make a plan to get us out of here. That would of course be more difficult with me and Izzy locked down here, but they'd make do.

"We're going to get out of here, Izzy" I assured her with renewed hope, "I promise you that"

* * *

 **Bentley's POV**

Sly had vanished two days ago. He had gone in that old mansion and not come out. It obviously meant that something had happened and it turned out that we'd hit that one in a million and actually found the place where Izzy had been taken. Penelope and I had done some reconnaissance yesterday and we were just now devising a plan to get them both out of there.

That task proved hard with both of our usual field agents out of the picture.

"Ugh..."Penelope let out a frustrated sound as she found yet another flaw in our plan to rescue Sly and Izzy.

This was the twenty-seventh plan we'd made so far. The main problems we kept encountering was the fact that we had no idea where they were being kept, though our best guesses were either the cellar or the attic. Also, as was already established, we were short on operatives. None of us was stealthy or simply just good enough to enter the mansion unnoticed. They had surprisingly tight security for an old, abandoned place like that.

"No, no, no and _no_!" Penelope exclaimed, "It just won't work"

She crumpled the paper in her hand into a small ball and tossed it away with all her strength. It was a clear sign of frustration. A feeling I shared with her, but I was too tired to try to calm her down.

"We need to take a break, Penelope" I said wearily, "We can't make even make proper plans anymore"

She crossed her arms, clearly disliking the aspect, but understanding why it was important. She gave a curt nod. We both exited the planning room and went to the living room where Murray was staring at the TV. He wasn't really watching it. He was just trying to keep his mind off the whole thing and I completely understood why. It was hard for all of us. Sly and Izzy were our friends and we couldn't to help them. It was very depressing and frustrating to even think about.

Penelope flopped on the couch next to Murray and closed her eyes. I did the same (minus the flopping on the couch part) and focused on nothing in particular.

Murray flipped through the channels until finally settling for the news.

 _"...In other news today, Interpol reveals a scandal. The infamous master thief Sly Cooper and Inspector Carmelita Fox were romantically involved with each other during Cooper's brief period of working for Interpol. Many question have been raised if the aforementioned inspector is anymore capable of handling..."_

 _"Interpol... Inspector Fox... Could we or more importantly,_ would _she... if I asked...?"_ I was processing everything I'd just heard.

Suddenly, albeit slowly, a vague idea of a plan began forming in my head.

"It might just work..." I said out loud.

"Huh? What was that, Bentley?" Murray asked.

"Uh... nothing" I quickly muttered in assurance, still thinking about if it would actually work.

 _"It's dangerous. Very dangerous. Especially for Sly and Izzy, but there might be a chance of helping them escape in the process..."_ I debated in my mind.

"Penelope" I suddenly said.

Her head perked up and she gave me a questioning and tired look.

"I got an idea" my voice was full of such surety that it made her jump up from the couch.

"Tell us"

I explained the idea to both of them. Once I finished and looked at them both, neither was convinced with the new plan. Murray actually appeared to be somewhat scared at one particular prospect. Penelope on the other hand was worried about the fact that Izzy and Sly would both be in danger because of the plan. I reasoned that there really wasn't anything else we could do. I almost hated to admit it, but without the pair of thieving raccoons, the gang was a bit crippled. Penelope wasn't convinced, but she had to agree with my logic and Murray, seeing this, agreed as well, though reluctantly.

"One of us needs to slip into the building during the whole operation and locate Sly and Izzy" I told them, "And also find Sly's cane. He won't leave the place without it, no matter what"

"I'll go" Penelope announced almost immediately.

"What!?" I yelped in surprise, "That's out of the question!"

But she apparently wasn't in the mood for arguing.

"Look, Bentley, I'm the best choice. We can't send either of you. You're too known, but I've joined the gang only a little while ago so they don't yet know my face. Also, Murray's size and your chair might raise some questions" she reasoned, leaving me completely without any arguments, "So, obviously, I am the best choice"

Everything about Penelope told me that there was nothing I could do to make her change her mind. I'd learned (through trial and error) to leave things at that every time she adopted that sort of demeanor.

"Fine" I sighed, "But promise that you'll be careful"

She gave me a dazzling smile and nodded her head eagerly.

"Of course I'll be careful" Penelope said, walking over to me and giving my cheek a quick peck, "Now, let's start. I'll go prepare and you should go and make that call"

"But aren't we going to rest first?" I asked, slightly surprised. She'd looked quite tired a few moments ago.

"No, we need to act now" Penelope said sternly, but not harshly. (A/N There's a difference between the two, right?)

"Alright then" I nodded, "Murray, warm up the van. We'll be going in a minute"

"Sure thing, Bentley!"

I wasted no time calling to Interpol and requesting to speak with a specific inspector who just might help us to rescue Sly and Izzy...

 **Can you guess the plan yet? I'm not sure if you all find it as obvious as I think you will... Review and stuff...**


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Their rescue

 **Chapter nine and they still haven't gotten together. I'm getting frustrated with myself for not putting them together.**

 _Flashback, Krack-Karov volcano, Russia (A.K.A Clockwerk's Lair)_

 _Time: The ten seconds_

 ** _Izzy's POV_**

 _Sly had done it! He had taken down Clockwerk, the ancient enemy of his entire family. He had avenged his parents' deaths and everyone else the Fiendish Five had ever hurt. At the last minute, Sly had also managed to snatch the last pages of the Thievius Raccoonus from Clockwerk's talons. He had the whole book. That was something he hadn't had in many, many years. He always used to tell me about how we would steal it back together. Now we had done it and I was so happy for him!_

 _Right now, Sly was standing on the platform with an absentminded smile on his face. He was probably reminiscing all the past jobs and heists we'd done to steal the book pages. I was watching him from afar, smiling as well. I thought about calling out to him, but movement on the other side of the platform caught my eye. My head whipped in that direction. There, on the other side of the platform stood Carmelita Fox. I could see that she was pointing her shockpistol at Sly and in her other hand, there was a pair of handcuffs. What I didn't see was her face, but I knew, just knew by some divine providence, that she was smirking an annoying, victorious and all around bitchy smirk!_

 _Sly noticed her and he slowly turned around and at her command, raised his hands into the air. I was sure Carmelita was going to slap the cuffs on him right then and there, but for some reason, she lowered her gun slightly and relaxed her stance a little._

"What's going on?" _I wondered,_ "Why isn't she arresting him?"

 _It's not like I wanted for Sly to get arrested, but it was very odd that Carmelita didn't immediately cuff him. I continued to peer to the platform, waiting for something to happen. Sly was slowly moving closer to the inspector and with every small step, her guard dropped a bit more. It was probably subconscious because Inspector Carmelita Fox would never let her guard down in the presence of Sly Cooper._

"What are you doing?!" _I thought in panic._

 _Sly had stopped right in front of her. I could easily picture the confused face she must've been wearing. Why didn't he do something?!_

 _Unfortunately, that was when he_ did _do something..._

 _Sly kissed Carmelita. He kissed her full on the lips. It was a quick kiss, no more than a second or two, but during that infinitesimal amount of time, my heart broke into a million little pieces. Hot tears welled up in my eyes and streamed down my cheeks. I felt betrayed and heartbroken. I know that it didn't make any sense to feel that way. Sly didn't know that I was in love with him, therefore he didn't need to think about me while kissing someone else, but it still felt like a knife through the heart. I turned my back to the depressive sight before me and decided to return into the van. Neither Murray or Bentley noticed my tears or my face when I passed them. They were thankfully too busy doing something else. I managed to hold in the sobs until I got into the van, but even there, I couldn't let it all out. I feared that they could hear me._

 _I grabbed two blankets and wrapped the other around myself. From the remaining one, I fashioned a pillow and threw in on the floor._ _I couldn't let the guys see I'd been crying. They would ask why and that would be a question I'd be unable to answer. But I knew they wouldn't disturb me if I was asleep, so I laid down on the floor and nestled myself against the makeshift pillow and closed my eyes. I made sure to cover my head with the other blanket._

 _I had originally thought about just pretending to be sleeping, but once I closed my eyes, I found that I felt really tired. No wonder, really... We had, in single night, invaded Clockwerk's fortress and defeated its crazy master. It had been really stressing and it didn't take long to fall asleep._

 _I vaguely registered Sly hushing the two other and telling them that I was asleep before completely passing out into troubled dreams..._

* * *

 **Bentley's POV**

The plan had worked! I had managed to convince Carmelita to help us rescue Sly. She would be doing it inadvertently, without any knowledge about our little operation on the side of her raid. Of course, we had no intention of waiting for her to find our two missing friends and that was why I was currently monitoring the situation with Penelope. She had slipped into the house at the same time Carmelita had lead her raid there. The inspector had a group of other Interpol officers with her and I was constantly afraid that Penelope would be discovered.

"Everything alright, Penelope?" I asked for the tenth time in an hour.

 _"Yes, Bentley. Everything's fine"_ she sighed with annoyance, _"They haven't noticed me yet. I'm on my way to the cellar"_

"Be careful out there" I cautioned. I really wasn't fond of the idea of Penelope in jail, "Carmelita and her men will incarcerate you without hesitation"

 _"Don't worry, they haven't found their way down here yet"_ she assured me.

"I always worry" I almost sighed.

 _"I know, sweetie. That's one of the reasons I love you"_

I blushed at that and I could hear her giggle on her end. I started to mutter something in return, but Penelope's voice cut me off.

 _"Someone's coming"_

"Who?!" I exclaimed in panic.

 _"It's..."_ she halted and lowered her voice to a very, very quiet whisper, _"Inspector Fox"_

My panic skyrocketed when I heard the inspector being mentioned.

 _"She's going for the cellar door"_

* * *

 **Izzy's POV**

I was dozing off in Sly's arms, dreading for another visit from my monster of a father. He hadn't arrived yet, which I found strange and relieving. I didn't know if I could take anymore of the torture. Even with Sly there afterwards, I was starting to feel it taking its toll on me. I didn't sleep well anymore and the little food we were given everyday didn't rouse my appetite. I only ate the little I did, because Sly refused to touch it before I'd gotten enough nourishment. Even in this terrible situation, he still looked after my needs before his own.

"You're such a good person, Sly" I said quietly.

"Huh?" he let out a confused sound at my sudden praise.

"Because you always think of others before yourself" I continued.

I looked up at his face, which, I noticed, was only a few inches from mine. He too was looking at me with those hypnotizing brown eyes of his. I had the sudden urge to close the distance between us and-

 _"Kiss him. I want to kiss him while I'm still sane enough to do it"_

I debated for a brief moment if it was OK to just kiss him out of the blue. How would he react? Would he kiss me back or would I just make everything awkward and ruin our friendship? I thought back to the morning when I kissed his cheek for the first time. He'd been surprised alright, but he hadn't really shown any dislike towards the fact that I'd kissed him, if only on the cheek.

 _"Do it"_ my brains encouraged.

For once, I didn't argue, I didn't _want_ to argue with my mind. I slowly came upwards, all the time looking into Sly's eyes. They were full of question, but I think I saw something else in there as well, something I couldn't quite name...

"Sly..." I whispered.

I snaked my arms around his neck and leant even further, our lips closing in on each other.

"Izzy..." he breathed.

I could feel the breath on my face and I felt a pair of arms adjust themselves around me, abruptly pulling me a bit closer to him. Our lips hovered only an inch or two apart. My eyes closed, continuing to lean in, waiting for the inevitable meeting of our lips...

But the universe was against me, like it had been from the first damn moment I fell in love with Sly. Just when I was about to make the distance between us vanish and finally kiss the raccoon I'd loved for so long, there was a loud sound and the door was kicked open.

A bright light was pointed at us, blinding us momentarily. I was instantly afraid that my father had come to torture me again. I pressed myself to Sly, but his arms didn't come to wrap around me like they usually did. There was a long moment, during which nothing happened and the light was still shining at our eyes.

"Sly" a very familiar, female voice gasped.

I recognized that voice! It was-

 _"You got to be kidding me!"_

Now, I wanted to scream. I wanted to scream and punch the owner of the voice and vent out the frustration of eight years. Especially when a great deal of that frustration had been caused by the inspector of Interpol who was still pointing her flashlight at us.

"Carmelita" Sly responded.

The light blinding us was averted, allowing us to see the vixen who'd chased us all around the world. She was staring at Sly with wide eyes, completely ignoring my existence, as usual. Her shockpistol was pointed at us, but the arm holding it was visibly trembling.

Sly stood up, pulling me with him. I withdrew my arms and remained next to him. He hadn't taken his eyes of Carmelita. They were devoid of emotion and his face didn't betray any feelings of delight or happiness. He crossed his arms and gave her a look that one could almost interpret as a glare.

Carmelita cringed slightly and her arm holding the pistol dropped. In fact she dropped the whole gun to the floor.

"Sly, I-"

She didn't or couldn't finish that sentence. I was observing the situation between the _former_ lovers, all the while wishing that I wasn't chained to the stone pillar. They continued to look at each other. Sly with his slight glare and Carmelita with her sad eyes.

Then, without any warning and with a lightning fast movement, Carmelita's arms were wrapping around Sly and silent sobs were heard.

"I'm sorry, Sly. I'm sorry I lied to you. I didn't mean what I said" she wailed.

I stood dumbfounded, looking at the vixen who was desperately trying to apologize. My dumbfoundness turned into horror when I saw Sly's arms slowly coming up with the intent of wrapping around Carmelita. I couldn't let that happen. My thoughts were selfish, but they say that love is the most selfish of feelings...

 _"No, you won't ruin this for me! No, no, no..."_

"NO!" I screamed.

I didn't really think about what I was doing when I grabbed the inspector and forcibly pried her off of Sly.

"Don't touch him! You've hurt him enough!" I snarled at her, coming to stand between them.

Carmelita regained her composure and glared at me with narrowed eyes. I was standing in front of Sly and I could hear him gasping lightly. Apparently, he'd been a bit behind Carmelita with snapping out of the trance.

"This is none of your business!" she snapped.

"Sly is my friend and I care about him! I'm not gonna let you hurt him again!"

"You're the only one here I'm going to hurt" she growled.

She took a step closer to me and I prepared myself for the fight.

"Carmelita" Sly said quietly, causing both of us to look at him, "I can't come back. I can't... _love..._ you, anymore"

To say I was enjoying to see Carmelita break down and fall on her knees would be an understatement. I was loving seeing her suffer for all the hurt and pain she had caused Sly.

 _"She deserves it!"_

A quiet sob from behind me had me turning around, alarmed. Sly too had fallen to his knees and was sobbing violently. I quickly lowered myself to his level and hugged him tightly.

"It's OK, Sly" I cooed in his ear, "I won't let her hurt you anymore"

That was all she had ever done to him. Hurt him, lied to him, claiming to love him when she only loved the Sly she herself created. It was disgusting! How did she think Sly would ever forgive her for something like that?

"You" was heard from behind us.

I looked over my shoulder to see Carmelita standing up again and glaring at me with pure rage in her eyes.

"This is your fault!" she shrieked, "You filled his head with lies and stole him away from me"

If only she knew the irony of that statement... and yes, I was going to steal Sly away from her.

"You're the one who lied to him! And for what? Only so that you could 'make something good out of him'!"

Her eyes widened hearing this.

"Yes! Sly told me! He told me everything!" I shouted at her, "You don't _deserve_ him"

Before Carmelita could shout something back, an audible "click" of a lock drew our attention. I looked down. The chain around my ankle had been removed. I looked at Sly's hand. There, between his fingers, was a hair pin. Then I looked back at Carmelita and realized that he'd snatched it from her hair. When, I had no idea, but I was now finally free.

"Izzy" Sly's hoarse voice sounded.

I glanced at him behind me. My eyes found his and I almost gasped at the broken and dull look the normally so vibrant orbs held. They were looking like back then when he'd told me about their break up.

"Let's go home" he said as his own shackle clicked and was thrown away.

Sly stood up and I went to stand by him. His hand came and gripped mine tightly. I threw Carmelita a victorious look and watched as she became even more enraged.

"You're both under arrest" she snarled.

"I'll take care of her, Sly" I whispered, putting my hand on his chest.

He gave me a curt nod before taking a step back. I, on the other hand, stepped forward. Carmelita's fists were clenched and she was gritting her teeth. She was furious, which meant that she was unfocused and probably very easy to take down.

As soon as I was close enough, she tried to punch me in the face. It was a reckless attempt as I just simply sidestepped and took the opening to strike the neural points of her arm. It fell to her side, completely numb and useless for the next few hours. Carmelita let out an actual growl and jumped at me again, trying to kick me in the face. This attempt also proved futile as moments later, she fell to the ground with her left foot paralyzed.

I knelt beside her, crushing her good arm under my feet. I bent down to whisper into her ear.

"Sly will never be yours again" I said, "He's mine now"

"Yours?" Carmelita said with genuine confusion on her face, "But you never-"

" _I did_ " I snarled, "Long before you"

Applying heavy pressure on certain neural points right under her ears, she fell unconscious in less than ten seconds. I got up and turned to see Sly walking to me. He stopped next to me and took one last glimpse at Carmelita. With a long, sad sigh, he turned away from her. I hugged him quickly before we left the room. On the way, I took his hand that was fumbling to find mine again. I squeezed it comfortingly.

"Psst" someone whizzed.

"Who's there?"

"It's me!" someone exclaimed excitedly as a small figure landed in front of us.

"Penelope!" I shouted happily.

I lifted my friend from the ground and crushed her into a hug.

"Izzy... can't... breathe"

"Sorry" I apologized sheepishly, "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your skins, that's what!" she told us, "Come on, follow me. I know a safe way out. The whole house is crawling with Carmelita's men, but fortunately she told them that she herself was taking care of the cellar"

We followed our mouse friend along a dimly lit hallway to a heavy door. I didn't fail to notice a hand returning to mine when the door opened and revealed that it was almost sunset. The last lights of the day stung our eyes slightly, but they adjusted soon enough. Penelope lead us to a familiar sight. The team van was waiting for us in a remote alleyway and it's driver was impatiently waiting for us to arrive.

"SLY! IZZY!" Murray roared when he saw us.

He jumped from the driver's seat and run to meet us. We were suddenly engulfed in one of Murray's bone crushing hugs.

"OK, we're glad to see you too" I wheezed.

Murray held us for a moment longer until setting us down and running back to the van and resuming his original position behind the wheel. The three of us walked to the back door in a brisk pace. Penelope jumped in first, followed by Sly, who pulled me after himself.

When the door closed, Sly collapsed on the nearest seat. His eyes closed and he heaved out a long breath. I sat next to him and wrapped my arms around him. He did the same to me without looking and we stayed like that for the ride to the safe house.

"You two look so cute together" Penelope blurted out suddenly.

My head snapped in her direction and I gave her the worst glare ever. She shrunk back a bit and I looked at Sly. His face hadn't changed. He still had his eyes closed and his head was resting against the seat's headrest, but I could tell that he wasn't sleeping.

Either Sly didn't hear Penelope or didn't care about the comment. I really hoped for the former.

"We're here!" Murray announced.

I felt the van stop in the garage and I got up along with Sly and Penelope. We hopped out of the van and into another hug from Murray. After he let us go, we walked to the living room, where we saw the last member of our little group of thieves.

"Bentley!" I exclaimed and jumped to hug him.

I was happy to see him again as well. Once, I let go of him, Sly came from behind me.

"Thank you, Bentley, for getting us out of there" he said earnestly, squeezing his shoulder, "And thank you Penelope and Murray"

Sly's voice was quiet, broken. Just like when he'd first told me about Carmelita and the revelation of his amnesia.

 _"Damn that woman!"_ I cursed in my head.

"Anytime, Sly!" Murray exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, Sly, you'd do the same for us" Penelope replied.

Bentley nodded in confirmation.

Sly gave us all a tired smile before abruptly turning around and presumably going to his room. Everyone looked after him in slight bewilderment. This was very unlike Sly, but I understood completely why he was like that.

"What happened?" Bentley asked, sounding worried.

"Carmelita happened" I said darkly.

"Oh" he voiced, right away understanding the situation, "In that case, I think you should go talk to him"

He wheeled away before I could ask him why I should talk to Sly. Of course, I was going to go talk to him, but why exactly had Bentley suggested it. I looked to Penelope who gave me nod and a smile. I followed Sly into his room and found him there, lying on the bed with the cover thrown carelessly on him, barely covering his midsection. He was still awake and didn't look sleepy at all. His eyes focused on me when I walked in. I went over to his bed and sat down.

Sitting there, I realized for the first time in a while that I reeked! Figures after so long without a shower, but at the moment, I couldn't find it in myself to care. Though, I wanted to get out of these dirty clothes and put on new, clean ones, but that would involve getting up and I had already firmly decided that I would sleep with Sly. I looked at his almost clotheless body.

 _"Well, what the heck!"_ I thought.

I undressed myself. I could feel Sly's eyes on me the whole time, but I didn't really mind. I threw aside the last piece of clothing so that when I crawled next to him and pulled the covers over us, the only thing I had on me were my undergarments. We both blushed heavily.

I was lying on my side, staring at Sly, who was on his back and staring at the ceiling. I waited for a long moment before he shifted to lie on his side as well. We were now looking into each others' eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked softly.

"No. I just want to forget it all" he said quietly, "How about you?"

"Do I want to talk about it? No, not really. I want to forget it all as well" I replied.

Sly nodded. There was another silence.

"Do you miss her?" I asked out of nowhere.

He looked a bit surprised, but shook his head nonetheless.

"No, I don't. I don't want to cry over her anymore" he said.

I nodded, feeling very happy inside.

"And besides" he continued with a smirk, "I have you, Isabelle"

I felt my cheeks heat up and I smiled at him. He smiled back and pulled me to him. I happily complied and brought my arms around him.

"Good night, Izzy"

"Good night, Ringtail"

His chuckle was the last thing I heard before a sudden exhaustion took over my mind and compelled me to the Land of Dreams.

 **Did ya like it? Review and stuff...**


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Their kiss

 **Finally! Something's gonna happen with the two of them!**

 **P.S. My friend who's reading this story thinks that our raccoon pair's relationship is a bit rushed. My friend is right. I totally agree. I rushed it a bit by accident, _but_ because I'm me, I'm gonna give you a few reason (A.K.A excuses) as to why their relationship might seem a bit rushed, but in reality isn't. **

**Izzy's been in love with Sly for eight years and (think I said this before) now that she has finally decided to act on her feelings, things are changing quickly. Izzy refuses to wait any longer. We also have to remember that the story begins from the point where Sly too starts to realize his feeling for Izzy, but before that there's been eight years of unrequited feelings. That's part of the reason the flashbacks are included in every chapter. So, in a way this story lacks the parts where the two destined lovers start to realize their feelings and skips to the part where one of the lovers has figured out his/her feelings and is trying to express them to the other. This is, of course, just one scenario and there a lot of different kinds of love stories with their own plots and twists and drama.**

 **So, this is my reason *cough* [excuse] *cough* why their relationship might appear rushed, but really isn't.**

 **P.S. I got a review from _Guest_ and I just wanted to thank him/her for taking the time to read my humble story. Also as an answer to the request posed in your review: Don't worry, there'll be a lemon in this story and once they really get together, there'll be cuddling too.**

 _Flashback, Jean Bison's logging camp, Canada_

 _Time: After the job Bearcave Bugging_

 ** _Izzy's POV_**

 _It was a cold, beautiful, cold, snowy and did I mention, COLD day in Canada. Sly and I had just finished our job that included stealing radiotransmitters from mouths of wild, dangerous, bloodthristy bears! We'd actually managed to pull it off and after we'd gotten out of the damned cave, Bentley had us build a grid of the transmitters around Jean Bison's house. During this, I'd noticed the wind picking up and snow starting to fall more rapidly, clouding our vision from little to nothing._

 _"There's a blizzard coming" I said, remembering that Bentley had mentioned it earlier as he shooed us out._

 _"So, Bentley told us" Sly said, "We should go back to the safe house"_

 _I just hoped that we'd make it to the safe house before the blizzard began in earnest._

 _..._

 _Ten minutes later it became very clear that we wouldn't make it to the safe house in time._

 _"Sly!" I yelled over the tumultuous wind._

 _He turned his head a little, signaling that he was listening._

 _"We can't stay here! We need a shelter!"_

 _It was seriously getting cold out there. We didn't wear thick coats or warm gloves because they slowed us down. Also, when you run from place to place, you tend to stay warm, but this was different. The temperature was dropping significantly and I was really freezing._

 _"There's a cave!" I heard Sly shout._

 _(A/N it has to be a cave of course. A cabin would be inconvenient for my plan for this flashback)_

 _I looked up and saw that there was indeed an opening in the ice wall. I didn't really fancy the thought of us in a cave because we would most likely get snowed in, but another cold blast of the northern wind and I was already running for the entrance. Sly followed close behind me, probably freezing as well._

 _The entrance to the cave was narrow and we had to crouch down a bit to fit through. I couldn't make out much in the dim light coming from outside as I looked around in the cave. It didn't look big, though and the back wall was barely visible. We were able to stand straight, but if I extended my hand, it would come in contact with bitingly cold ice ceiling._

 _"I can't get hold of Bentley" Sly announced, "Must be this cave and the storm"_

 _I heard him sit down as far away from the entrance as he could. I followed his example and sat next to the raccoon, knees pulled to my chest and arms wrapped around them. I tried my best to get warm, but despite the shelter, it was still freezing. Sly too made an effort to get a bit of warmth returned to his body._

 _My teeth were chattering and I was shivering slightly._

 _"S-Sly" I stuttered, feeling his gaze settle on me, "We won't make it like this"_

 _He looked at me helplessly, not knowing what to do. The wind had gotten worse and the center of the blizzard must've been right above the logging camp. We were trapped in there without anything to warm ourselves with._

 _"Here" Sly said suddenly._

 _I snapped out of my somber thoughts of not surviving to see Sly spreading his arms. The slight embarrassment didn't go unnoticed by me when I posed a question: "Y-Y-You... you want to c-cuddle?"_

 _I was honestly surprised as I had_ _n't thought about that myself, but of course I liked the idea. The embarrassment on his face became more visible in the form of a blush._

 _"Well, we need to stay warm. The blizzard can go on for a while and we just might get through it if we... cuddle a bit for warmth" Sly let out his explanation._

 _I just stared at him, completely thunderstruck. I seriously hadn't seen this one coming. As I sat there, still staring at him and clearly making him feel awkward, a warm feeling was spreading inside me rapidly. The freezing cold of the blizzard was all but forgotten as I smiled at his blushing face and moved closer to him, allowing him to pull me to sit on his lap. I pressed myself as close to him as I possibly could. Partly for the warmth and partly because... well, you know._ _I rubbed my hands together, trying to make the numbness caused by the cold to go away. I only had thin woolen gloves to shield my fingers against the wintry weather._

 _"Here, let me" Sly said suddenly._

 _Before I could even try to understand what he said, my hands were covered by Sly's larger ones. He brought them close to his muzzle and blew a warm breath of air on them. He did it a couple of times, after which I could again feel the tips of my fingers. He continued to rub our hands together to create friction. I regarded him through all this, thinking about how amazing he really was._

 _A breeze of cold air blew in from the cave's open entrance, returning me to earth and remembering that I was still freezing my tail off. I was still shivering, but the chattering of my teeth had subsided and I was feeling_ a bit _warmer than before._ _We huddled closer to each other, I pressed my hands against Sly's chest and at the same time, he wrapped his arms around me. My head was resting in the crook of his neck and his cheek was pressed on my temple._

 _I could feel Sly's warm breath tickling my ear and I knew I should've paid more attention to the fact that we might freeze to death here, rather than focusing on thinking how lovely it was to be here on his lap, wrapped in an embrace. I drew warmth from these thoughts as tried to snuggle deeper into Sly._

* * *

 _A while later..._

 _Sly and I were shivering in sync. The stormy wind was still roaring in the distance and just as I had predicted, we had gotten snowed in. The cave's entrance was now fortified with a thick layer of snow and I prayed that we would be able to break it from here. With the entrance covered in snow, darkness had fallen in the cave. Fortunately, Sly produced a small torch that gave us enough light to see._

 _We were still huddled together, not wanting to part before the blizzard had completely passed. That would mean losing whatever little warmth we still had left in our bodies._

 _"Don't fall asleep" Sly commanded._

 _"Sorry" I replied, actually feeling slightly sleepy, "You're comfy"_

 _I blurted that out by accident, not at all meaning to say it out loud. It must be the sleepiness. I must not have been thinking clearly. A blush was making it's way to my cheeks and I prayed that Sly wouldn't notice._

 _Fortunately, he just chuckled before answering: "Why, thank you, Isabelle. I'm glad that you're finding me comfy" he joked, "Do let me know in the future if you need to cuddle. I'll make time for you" he said with more serious tone._

 _My half-closed eyes snapped wide open. My head rose from its place and I focused my gaze on Sly's eyes. Had he just seriously suggested that?_

 _Of course, I should've taken note of the mischievousness hidden under the pretended seriousness..._

 _"Don't look so serious, Izzy" he chided, "I was just joking"_

 _It took me a moment to register what he just said and when it finally sank in, I did my best to mask my disappointment in annoyance. I quickly hid my face in his neck again._

 _"Idiot" I huffed._

 _I had really believed that he'd suggested it, but I guess it was just another cruel joke by Universe, Fate, God or whatever was doing this to me. Why did it have to be so hard? That was something I've thought about a million times before, but never come up with an actual answer. I wouldn't even know what to say. I couldn't just go and be like, "Hey, Sly, we've been friends for years, but actually I love you, hehe". Oh, no! That would be so awkward! No, expressing it through words wouldn't work. I'd crumble beneath those brown eyes before first words even left my mouth. Maybe I should just do something, like... kiss him. That would probably send a clear enough message. I wouldn't need to look at his eyes and it all would be said in one, simple act._

"Yeah, that's what I should do!"

 _I startled myself with this kind of sudden decision._

"Did I really decide that I'm going to kiss Sly?" _I asked in my mind,_ "Just like that?"

 _Sly lowered his head to rest on mine again, but this time, instead of his cheek on my temple, I could feel his forehead on mine. His face was now so close to mine as were those lips of his. To say I was surprised would be a major understatement. I was astonished when his face came so near so suddenly. My heart was beating too loud and I feared he might hear it. A sudden feeling was urging me to seize the opportunity and show him my feeling._

 _But I still hesitated. Every possible "what if" was running through my mind. All of them ending terribly in heartbreak. I tried to push them away, to lock them in some dark confine of my head and throw away the proverbial key. My teeth bit down on my lip to prevent me from satiating the growing desire to kiss. However, my arms involuntarily came around Sly's neck. He didn't question it, but he likely thought that I was just adjusting myself. I angled my head a bit, so that all it would take for our lips to touch was for either of us to lean in a little. His warm breath tickled my nose and his eyes were watching me. Just watching. He wasn't anyhow noticing my inner struggle. I leant a millimetre closer without Sly noticing. My confidence was building by the second. I felt that could do it! I would do it!_

"I will do it!"

 _"No, you won't Izzy"_

 _Those were undoubtedly the thoughts of whatever being denying me of my fulfillment, because at that exact moment I was about to make the few simple inches between our lips disappear, Sly chose to speak:_

 _"The storm's over"_

 _"Huh?"_

 _It felt like waking up from a dream, an amazing, lovely, wonderful dream and realizing that you're forced to return to the harsh and in this case, freezing reality. That was what I felt like. I let my arms slide away from around Sly's neck and wordlessly got up with him. I hated myself for hesitating. Only a second, one more miserable second and I would've done it._

 _But today clearly is not my day._

 _Sly grabbed the little torch from the ground and moved to the entrance to poke the wall of snow with his cane. It didn't appear that solid, but obviously there was a fair amount of snow separating us from the outside world. At least air flowed through somehow..._

 _"I guess we need to dig"_

 _"Damn, it's cold" I shivered, realizing the fact that we were still freezing here for the first time in a while._

 _I knelt beside Sly and help him to clear away the snow. It wasn't as easy as I'd thought. The snow had hardened under the pressure of its own weight and had immediately started to freeze in place. Luckily, Sly had his cane. It made it easier for us to break the still solidifying wall of snow._

 _When we had finally dug ourselves through to the surface, my hands were half-numb and had I dared to remove my gloves, I'm sure my finger would've been turning blue under their coat of fur. It was dark and the only light came from Sly's torch and the huge full moon on the sky._

 _"Beautiful night" Sly said from behind me._

 _"Yeah" I muttered, "Let's go"_

 _I didn't hear Sly respond so I assumed he agreed with me. We started our trek to the safe house through the new layer of snow. It didn't make it any easier for us that it reached all the way to the waist. We were practically wading through the snow._

 _On the way, Bentley contacted us._

"Sly! Izzy! What happened?! Where have you been!?" _half_ _shouted the frantic voice of our turtle friend._

 _I might've chuckled if the situation hadn't been what it was._

 _"We'll explain when we get there. Do us a favour and make sure there's a nice, warm fire in the fireplace and some lukewarm water for our frostbites" Sly calmly instructed him._

 _"A-And some hot chocolate wouldn't hurt e-either" I added quickly, having begun shivering violently again._

 _"And some hot chocolate for everyone" Sly repeated, smiling._

 _"Alright, but you better have a very good explanation for this" Bentley reprimanded us, assuming his normal scolding tone._

 _We managed to chuckle at him._

 _...  
_

 _The safe house was within our sights. Welcoming light and warmth virtually radiated through the walls of the building. I picked up my pace, wanting to get inside as quickly as possible. Sly had noted a moment ago that my lips were turning blue and that wasn't a good sign._

 _Running up the icy ramp, leading to the front door, I threw it open and darted to sit as near of the fire as possible without feeling my fingers burn._

 _"Izzy!" shouted two surprised voices, soon followed by equally surprised: "Sly"_

 _I didn't pay any attention to them as Sly explained what had happened. And being too busy stretching my hands towards the fire, I didn't hear Sly coming to me. He offered a steaming cup of cocoa and sat next to me. In his hands there was a blancet which he wrapped around us. I was again pressed to his side with his arms holding me there._

 _It was already feeling so nice that I could get used to it, but of course it was clear that Sly was just trying to get us both warm. I sighed at the thought and he caught onto that._

 _"What is it?"_

 _"We made it" I replied after a moment of silence._

 _"Yeah"_

 _After gulping down the cocoa and burning my throat, I dared myself and rested my head on Sly's shoulder._

 _"Can I fall asleep now?" I asked jokingly, but also feeling exhausted._

 _"Wouldn't you prefer your bed?" he inquired, the smirk evident in his voice._

 _I shook my head against his shoulder._

 _"It's such a long way from the fire..." I mumbled._

 _"Do you need a pillow at least?"_

 _"This'll do" I said, nestling my head further into his shoulder. I'd take his shoulder over a pillow any day._

 _He chuckled and remained quiet, allowing the crackle of fire and sound of his breathing lull me to sleep..._

 **Flashback ends here. Just saying so that you don't get confused as the actual chapter begins with a dream.**

* * *

 **Izzy's POV**

 _I was having a dream or rather, a nightmare. I was back in the old mansion, chained to the stone pillar. He was there, knife in his hand and the stench of alcohol coming from him. The bear was there as well, currently dragging Sly away from me and shackling him to the other pillar, too far away from me._

 _But unlike every other time, my father didn't come to me with the knife._

 _Instead, I watched in horror as he sauntered over to Sly._

 _"Does he make you feel better,_ Izzy _?" he mocked._

 _I could only stare with dread paralyzing my very soul. Sly's eyes were hard as he glared at him. My father was smiling, a cruel, twisted smile that only a complete madman could ever achieve. He raised the knife high, making sure I saw it before..._

 _A howl of pain from Sly felt almost as bad the knife must've felt buried in his shoulder._

 _"Sly!" I cried out._

 _My father struck again, this time in his stomach. I tore at the chains, trying in vain to free myself. The next hit pierced Sly's other shoulder. Tears spilled from my eyes as the final strike penetrated his chest, sinking the knife too close to his heart._

"NO!" _I screamed as blood gushed from his wounds._

 _No one tried to silence me as I continued to scream for Sly. He had fallen down and was clutching his stomach and chest. I watched helplessly as the red liquid flowed out of the wounds, blotting his blue shirt. Through it all, only one sound made its way to my brain. The cold, sadistic,_ mad _laugh of the raccoon who called himself my father._

 _He began retreating from Sly's sagged form and I pulled once more against my chains, desperately attempting to get loose._

 _"Release her, Dorian" my father said, walking away from the room._

 _The bear did as was told and unlocked my chains. I ran to Sly, ignoring everything else, and gently grabbed his limp from and cradled it in my arms._

 _"Sly!" I shouted, "Sly, don't die!" I whimpered, "Please,_ don't die _"_

 _"I'm... sorry, Izzy" he wheezed._

 _"No, Sly! You can't die! I can't live without you!" I shouted, tears flowing down my cheeks._

 _I hung my head and sniffed._

 _"I love you, Sly" I whispered, "You can't leave me, not_ _now..._ please _"_

 _His face didn't show anything, no surprise, no disgust, nothing. Had the situation been different, I would've probably been confused and afraid. He didn't say anything when suddenly, he broke into a smile. It was such a soft smile that it made me cry even more. His hand rose to lightly caress my cheek as he spoke._

 _"Aww, Izzy..." his voice was barely a whisper anymore, "I... l-l-l... lov-"_

 _But I didn't hear Sly finish it. His hand dropped and his eyes closed and I painfully listened as Sly Cooper breathed out his final breath._

"He's gone! Gone! Dead and gone!"

 _"No, Sly" I whimpered weakly._

 _Dead and gone..._

* * *

I shot up on the bed. I was sweaty, teary-eyed and panting heavily. My head snapped to look to my side where Sly was still sleeping. He was alive! But I needed proof and just seeing his chest rise and fall wasn't enough. I couldn't help myself as I wrapped my arms around him tightly and squeezed hard. I heard his heartbeat and felt the warmth of his body against mine.

 _"He's alive. He's not dead. It was just a dream"_

"Oof" was Sly's response to my crushing embrace.

He opened his eyes and lifted his head to see me gripping tightly around the stomach. My head was resting on his chest and I was still slightly sobbing and shaking.

"Izzy" Sly asked, alarmed, "What...?"

"Just a bad dream" I said quietly, convincing myself more than Sly "Nothing more"

He grabbed my shoulder and pulled me a little higher so that my head was leveled with his shoulder. I didn't let go of him and neither did he of me. I was enclosed in a comforting embrace.

"What happened?" Sly asked gently.

I shook my head.

"I don't want to talk about it"

"Are you sure?"

A nod from me and Sly dropped the subject.

"Then we won't talk about it" he assured, rubbing my back soothingly.

We lay there for quite a while. I tried to think about nice things to chase away the remnants of the nightmare still haunting me. My thoughts were dominated by Sly of course and how much I loved him. I often wondered what he thought about this sudden development in our relationship. Did he find it odd or had he finally started to fall for me like Penelope had claimed?

"Hey, Izzy" Sly whispered.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think is happening to us?"

A chill ran up my spine as he said this. Didn't he like what was evolving between us? Was he even talking about that?

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning deeply.

"I mean all this that's been going on these past two months with us" he explained, "We didn't do something like this before"

I didn't want to comment to that as I feared that I would slip something by accident. Deciding to play dumb, I adjusted myself on him to look at his face.

"I'm still not sure what you mean" I said, cocking my head a little.

"How often did we do something like this?" he asked, gesturing to our current position and lack of clothes which I didn't seem to remember until now. I blushed just a little. Thankfully, my fur was enough to mask it.

"Not really that often" I agreed.

"Never actually" Sly corrected me, "This is something I used to with-"

He stopped speaking, but I caught on to what he was going to say and quickly decided to move on with the conversation.

"Does _this_ bother you?" I tried to sound as innocent as possible, but deep down, I yearned to know what Sly's thoughts were about all this.

"Oddly enough, it doesn't" he said, almost making me sigh with relief, "It's nice, really"

I gave him a wide smile.

"I think so too"

Sly returned my smile and leaned back to his pillow. I did the same, except that my head was placed in the crook of his neck.

"But what exactly is _this,_ Izzy?" he asked after a little while.

"I don't know, Sly, but I don't really care as long it doesn't end"

"It won't end" Sly replied with strange confidence in his voice, "I don't think it will"

I could've said that this was like being in love, but I didn't. There was still so much hesitation and unsurety on my part. But I also had a growing feeling of confidence. Something telling me that this was right. I just hoped that Sly would take it well when I told him...

"We should take a shower" he suddenly said.

"What?!" I looked at him questioningly, "We?" I repeated.

He blushed, brightly. Seeing that was strangely satisfactory. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he always had me blushing.

"T-That's not what I meant, Izzy!" he exclaimed indignantly with an adorable stutter.

"I know, but I couldn't resist" I gave him a smirk that matched his name and enjoyed it thoroughly when he slightly squirmed under me.

Maybe I was making him a bit too uncomfortable, but I didn't care at the moment. It was too much fun seeing him like this!

"I'll go first" he said, narrowing his eyes at me, "And you stay put"

I gave him another smirk. _"No promises"_ it seemed to say. I rolled off of him, allowing him to get up and head for the shower. My eyes of course followed him as long he was in the room, mostly due the state of near complete clothlessness he was currently in. I had a feeling Sly could sense my scrutiny, but he didn't say anything about it. I was left in his room, on his bed and I thought that maybe I could wait there for Sly to come back. Taking a sniff at myself, my nose wrinkled at the stench of dirt and sweat and everything else. I really needed that shower. Sly should hurry up or I would indeed be joining him in there.

Lying there, I started thinking about our... _rapidly_ _advancing_ relationship. Was Sly really okay with this?

 _"Or am I moving too fast?"_ I questioned myself.

It had only been about two months since he came back. Is he ready to move on. True, he did say that he didn't want to cry over Carmelita anymore, but I couldn't blame him if he wasn't yet ready for another relationship.

 _"If anything would come of us..."_ I thought glumly.

I immediately dispelled that thought. There would be something! I would _make_ something!

But those menacing thoughts always seemed to find a way to plague me.

 _"What if I break his heart?"_ I thought, _"Or what if he breaks my heart...?"_

 _"No, that won't happen!"_

I was determined not to get my heart broken or break Sly's heart in the process. We would be happy together, that was the one thing I was certain.

* * *

After a long, refreshing shower, I was feeling much better. It was nice to scrub away all the dirt and put on a fresh outfit for a change. The others were sitting in the living room when I came out of my bedroom. They having fun as usual. I joined them, sitting next to Sly, naturally. The conversation we had was casual and no one brought up the whole kidnapping thing, but I knew we would have to talk about it later.

During all this, I noticed Bentley continuously eyeing us or rather actually, Sly.

"Bentley?" I asked, "What is it?"

"Where's your cane, Sly?" Bentley asked, looking around as if the cane would be lying somewhere.

I glanced at Sly's right hand, where the thieving tool normally was situated in his grip. It hadn't dawned on me back at the mansion that he didn't have his cane.

"I..." Sly paused, obviously embarrassed that he'd left his father's cane behind, "I forgot it in the mansion"

Bentley frowned, not in disapproval, but in confusion. He usually wore that frown when something didn't add up and now that I think of it, Sly leaving his cane for any reason didn't exactly add up. How did he forget it?

"Penelope was supposed to retrieve it... there were probably too many officers to search for it?" Bentley summarized, casting Penelope an inquiring look.

"Yeah, I would've gone to get it otherwise" she confirmed.

"So, does this mean that the cane is still at the mansion?" I asked.

Bentley frowned again, in thought.

"It's a possibility" he said slowly, "But I'm afraid that there's also a chance that Carmelita took it. It wouldn't have gone unnoticed during the raid and it might've been taken as evidence or maybe even just as a token"

"That would be more probable" Penelope agreed.

I nodded and looked at Sly. He didn't look pleased by this new aspect. His eyes were on Bentley.

"Can you find out?" he asked, still looking at Bentley, but posing the question to both of them.

"Sure, it'll only take a moment" Bentley grinned as did Penelope.

The duo pulled out their laptops and typed away. We listened to the steady sound of the keys being hit as we waited for them to find out the fate of the Cooper cane. Truth to be told, I was more concerned with what happened to my father and his goons. I hope they all got shot in the raid!

"Bentley was right" Penelope said suddenly, _"'During the Interpol raid to an abandoned mansion in the outskirts of Paris, the officers came across something peculiar: The infamous cane of Sly Cooper, said to be symbol of his clan. The instrument was taken as evidence by the officer leading the raid, Inspector Carmelita Fox...'"_

Everyone looked at Sly, who sighed in frustration.

"Well, we need to get it back..." he said with a hint of dejection.

Apparently, he wasn't too keen on running into Carmelita again. I wasn't too keen on that either. She was no good for him.

"We'll make a plan, but it'll take awhile. This is Interpol HQ we're talking about after all" Bentley said.

"Take your time, Bentley. I trust we'll get my cane back" his voice wasn't demanding. He literally meant that he trusted the two geniuses to concoct a working plan.

* * *

An hour or so later, Bentley and Penelope went to plan out our break-in to the Interpol HQ. Murray went to do something with the van and Sly told me that he wanted to be alone for a bit. I was curious as to why, but I didn't question him at the moment. Also, I did have one thing I wanted to talk about with Penelope.

She had gone with Bentley to their laboratory. I couldn't wait so I just walked in with a knock on the door.

"Penelope? Do you got a sec?"

"Sure" she chirped cheerily and followed after me.

I lead her to my room where we could talk in private. Sitting down on my bed, she looked at me with a quirked brow.

"What is it, Izzy?"

I was quiet for a moment.

"Did the article you read say anything about the people who got arrested?" I slowly voiced my question.

"Um... I didn't get to that part, but I can check if you want"

When I nodded, she gave me a look.

"Why do you wanna know?"

I sighed heavily. She wouldn't stop pestering me until I provided her with a satisfying answer. Taking a deep breath, I started telling her everything that had happened in the mansion.

...

Penelope's reactions varied from shocked to terrified to mortified when I told her the about the whole ordeal.

"I'll check the article immediately" she said seriously, running back to the lab.

Only a few minutes later, she came back, still running. Her face looked paler, but that might've been just my imagination.

"Well?" I urged, dreading the answer.

"According to the article four arrests were made" Penelope announced, "A bear, otter, rat and frog" she listed, "But no raccoon"

"So, he's still... out there" I whispered.

"I'm sorry, Izzy" Penelope comforted me, "But don't be afraid, the hideout is safe and his goons will be jailed"

"Yes, yes" I said shakily, "You're right" I stood up abruptly, "I got to find Sly"

I walked out of my room with a brisk pace. I assumed Sly would be in his room, but when I got there, he was nowhere in sight. In addition to his room, Sly only went to one other place in the safe house if he wanted to be alone: The roof. Following this guess, I climbed out of the window and hoisted myself upwards. Standing on the ledge circling the house, I took a moment to find the best way to climb higher. The best way seemed to be the rainwater pipe that could easily be used to reach the roof. It took another moment to reach the pipe and ascend it.

"Fancy seeing you here" a familiar voice joked.

I looked up to see Sly there, smirking down at me. He was leaning on his knee and extending his hand for me to take.

"I have something to tell you" I said gravely, grabbing his hand and letting him pull me up to the rooftop.

He immediately caught onto my serious tone.

"What's going on?"

"My father wasn't arrested" I told him, "He got away"

Sly's reaction was instant. He took my hands in his and we locked eyes.

"I'm not gonna let him hurt you again, Izzy" his voice was so assuring and confident that I didn't doubt for a second that he would do anything to keep me safe.

"I know, Sly, I know" I smiled at him.

"Do you wanna go for a walk?" he asked out of nowhere.

I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"A walk?"

"Yeah, a walk" Sly repeated, "We need to take your mind off of... _that_ "

"Well, I guess we could..." I had no reason to deny it, plus, a walk with him would be nice.

The daylight was fading and the city lights replacing it. The Eiffel Tower would be lit soon as well. There was a slight chill in the air, but knowing Sly, this walk wouldn't be a slow walk in the park, so we wouldn't get cold.

...

We spent lots of fun time racing across the Parisian rooftops. The sound of our laughter filled the air there, away from the heavy night traffic of the city. It was like our own not-so-little place where everything was alright. A place where we could release the inner child that was still so strong in the both of us. We laughed, chased each other and finally sat down on a chimney to admire the nightly metropolis of Paris.

"It's so beautiful" I spoke.

Even after seeing the city a thousand times before, it never lost its appearance of grandeur.

" _It_ is not the only thing" Sly added, grinning and giving me a sidelong glance.

I blushed just a bit and laughed a little at the comment. He was flirting again. Did he even realize that he was doing that? Or was it just so natural for him to do so?

"Is the infamous 'ladies' man' Sly Cooper flirting with me?" I asked teasingly.

"Maybe..." he answered vaguely.

I laughed again and leant against him. How come we hadn't fallen in love earlier? That was what I thought as we enjoyed the moment together and I was wishing it'd never end...

But alas, all good things must come to an end and eventually, Sly got up. I went to follow suit, but didn't get the chance as Sly's arms lifted me from the chimney. An arm under my knees and the other supporting my back. He had me in a nice bridal style hold.

"Hey!" I exclaimed before realizing that I'd much rather be here than walk.

"This is for teasing me" Sly smirked.

Well, he couldn't have minded it that much if this was my punishment for teasing him. Besides, he was the one flirting with me...

"Fine" I huffed in pretended annoyance as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

And so I allowed Sly to carry me along the rooftops. I reclined comfortably in his tireless arms, greatly enjoying this turn of events.

My mind began to wander. First to the past few weeks, then further and further, until it eventually settled to one specific day spent in a cave during a wintry storm. With the memory, came the thoughts and with the thoughts, one particular desire became reignited.

I thought back to the moment when I was about to kiss him for the first time. Back then I had been denied of it, but what about now...

I stole a glance at Sly's face, concentrating on his lips above all else. Nothing was stopping me from claiming them. Well, nothing except my hesitation that soared sky-high when the thoughts about kissing emerged in my mind. But I had hesitated before and where had it gotten me? Nowhere.

The safe house came into view. My hesitation was silenced and I was left with only the overwhelming desire. A craving in the need of quenching.

When Sly maneuvered us in from his room's window, I just couldn't resist it anymore. I wanted, no, _needed_ to kiss him. The urge was bigger than ever. It drove me crazy. Everything was pushing me to do it. The way he was holding me. How I could feel his body against to mine. His hot breath tickling my face. Everything about him was pulling me in, tempting my body to act. My eyes wandered to his lips and, for the thousandth time, I wondered about how they would feel like, taste like.

I barely registered Sly's arms when they lowered me to the stand on the floor. I didn't remove my own arms, leaving them hanging around his neck. As I began to lean in, I saw his head turn towards me. He wore a confused expression, but didn't do anything to try detach my hands from around him or otherwise put any distance between us. I pushed myself firmly against him and felt how his whole body went rigid. He didn't move a muscle when I continued to near his lips.

There were only about an inch of empty space between our lips and I halted for a split second to think if this was that smart after all...

But considering our position, it was too late by now and I felt that if I didn't do it now, I never would.

 _"Do it!"_ my brains screamed.

And I did.

The last inch between us vanished and our lips met.

 **!Yay! Kiss! They've kissed! I'm so happy! Review and stuff...**


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Their grief

 **This is the shortest chapter in this story so far. I just wanted to prolong the drama caused by all this that's happening right now with them. Do enjoy!**

 _Flashback, Arpeggio's blimp_

 _Job_ _: Blimp HQ Recon_

 ** _Izzy's POV_**

 _Bentley had given us an easy enough job. We were to enter Arpeggio's HQ and take few recon photos for the gang's brains. It should've been easy, effortless job, but somehow we'd landed ourselves in a situation where t_ _wo guards had me pinned against a railing. Sly had four guards taking care of him. Two to restraining him and the other two holding him at gunpoint._

 _Neyla was regarding the situation with sick amusement. Nothing less could be excepted of her, really. She was a heartless bitch who stopped at nothing to get what she wanted. Double-crossing us hadn't been enough. Oh, no, that was just the beginning. Carmelita and Interpol soon followed and there really was no reason for her_ not _to betray Arpeggio as well._

"I do hope he realizes that..." _I thought._

 _"Hold her down!" Neyla ordered._

 _The guards holding me delivered a nasty punch on my stomach to stop my squirming. It worked and I was left gasping in their grip._

 _"Remove her jacket and shirt!" Neyla continued._

 _The said clothes were torn off of me, leaving me only my bra to cover myself. I had no idea what she was going to do until I managed to catch a glimpse of her unfurling her whip. A sudden fear struck me. She was going to whip me!_

 _Sly's protests were silenced harshly and violently._

 _I could easily imagine the sadistic grin on her face when the first lash landed on my back and pain exploded through my whole body. I was screaming in its grips, feeling the whip bite into my back. The second lash cut into my back close to the first one. Another scream of agony rippled through me as the pain was increased twofold. The third lash was accompanied by Neyla's laughter and more excruciating pain. My back was feeling as if it was on fire. The pain burned through my entire body. I was bracing myself for the fourth lash when a high-pitched voice spoke:_

 _"Neyla! Enough of this! We are civilized people" Arpeggio's shrill voice commanded._

 _He sounded a bit nauseated..._

 _"Hmph! I was just starting to have fun" Neyla complained and I wasn't sure if she was joking or actually serious._

 _"I want you all to witness this momentous occasion when I join myself with my new body and achieve true_ immortality _" there was a gleam in Arpeggio's eyes, a gleam that hinted that his obsession with Clockwerk and eternal life could not be called healthy._

 _"Be a dear and watch them, Neyla" he continued, turning his moving birdcage around and heading for the ancient metal bird._

 _But before the parrot could even advance towards Clockwerk, a bloody whip pushed Arpeggio's vehicle over with practised precision. Sly, Arpeggio and the guards all seemed to be surprised by this action. I wasn't. I had known it was coming sooner or later._

 _"Stupid Arpeggio" Neyla sneered, "I double-crossed the Cooper Gang, Carmelita and Interpol. What makes you think I wouldn't do the same to you?"_

 _Her words seemed to make the guards realize that she was threatening their employer. They opened fire at the tigress, but she was too quick for them. In one sprint, Neyla had entered Clockwerk's body and immersed herself with the robotic owl. The guards kept at shooting, but their bullets couldn't scrape, let alone penetrate Clockwerk's metallic hide._

 _Fortunately for me, Sly had used the guards' momentary distraction to our advantage. He had crawled to me and asked if I could walk to which I had shaken my head. He nodded, handing me my discarded clothes. I left the shirt and pulled the jacket on quickly. A hiss of pain escaped my lips when the fabric came in contact with the bleeding wounds. After that, Sly carefully lifted me over his shoulder and I, just to make sure I wouldn't fall, wrapped arms around his torso. No one paid us any mind as we ran for the air duct, through which we had entered. Before we made our exit, we heard an ominous sound of winds being flapped and Neyla's amplified voice proclaim: "Behold! Clock-La is born!"_

 _A ear-splitting crashing sound was heard when the newborn Clock-La flew through the glass back wall, leaving behind six dead guards and an empty birdcage..._

 _"Let's get out of here" I prompted._

 _Sly nodded wordlessly._

 _Crawling through the narrow air duct didn't help the burning in my back one bit. Every time I moved, a pulse of pain shot through me. Twice, I needed to take a breather and wait for the pain to subside enough to move. When we finally got out of the air duct, Sly picked me up again and ran to the safe house. Luckily, we got there without any further incidents. In there, Bentley treated the whiplashes before dashing to make a plan._

 _Sly came to me and examined my back. I heard him gasp at the sight. Honestly, I didn't even want to see the wounds. It'd be better that way._

 _"I'm sorry" Sly whispered sadly._

 _I turned my head to him, giving a surprised look._

 _"For what?"_

 _"For letting this happen" he said, not meeting my eyes._

 _"There was nothing you could've done" I assured him, "You were held at gunpoint and I'd rather take you alive and these lashes than the other way around"_

 _He didn't object, but gave a sad smile before walking away._

 _I laid down on my stomach (it would be awhile before I could lie on my back again) and thought about how these new wounds would make another fine addition to my collection of scars..._

* * *

 **Izzy's POV**

Something was amiss. I could feel it the instant my lips touched Sly's. I had a strange feeling, like something was... missing. It didn't feel like I thought I was supposed to feel. Granted, I didn't really know what it should've felt like to kiss someone you love, but somehow this just felt... _off._ I felt clumsy, like I was doing something terribly wrong. It even felt awkward to be pressed against Sly in the way I was. Why did everything suddenly change? It didn't make any sense! This should've been something more than this!

I felt twice as bad as images of Sly shoving me off of him and telling me to go and leave him alone or yelling at me or something like that forced themselves into my mind.

But Sly did nothing.

Absolutely _nothing._

He just stood there, completely frozen.

I slowly pulled away to gauge his reaction... or rather, the lack of it.

For the longest time, the raccoon in front of me really did _nothing_ but stared into the remoteness. Every second felt like an eternity, stretching on forever. My breath caught in my throat and my heart felt like it had stopped beating. Panic was rapidly rising in the pit in my stomach. My mind was a mess of different scenarios where everything ended badly. I did my best to rein them, but that was easier said than done.

 _"Say something! Do something! ANYTHING!"_ I screamed at Sly in the confines of my mind.

Slowly, as if hearing my plea, his eyes began to focus on me again and his face adopted a shocked expression.

Then, he recoiled.

Sly recoiled from _me._ He recoiled _because of me!_

 _"No, please, no"_ I pleaded silently in my mind, _"Please!"_

Tears were flowing from my eyes like little rivers and Sly still did nothing. He just stood there again staring off into space. The shocked expression was still there.

I couldn't take it anymore! I ran out of the room, out of the safe house and into the night.

* * *

 **Same thing from Penelope's POV**

I was with Bentley in our lab. We were trying to find the best approach for Sly and Izzy to enter the HQ of Interpol. So far, the ventilation system seemed to be the most favourable option for them as it wasn't anyhow secured and was quite spacious. Our love-struck thieves could easily slip in, find Sly's cane and get out.

"OK, the vents'll do" Bentley concluded, "Now, what are we going to do about-"

But he didn't finish that sentence because of the sudden cry that was heard, accompanied by the sound of the front door slammed shut. My heart clenched. I had immediately recognized Izzy's voice and even the brief sound revealed that she was in pain. Emotional pain. Something must've happened between her and Sly...

"Excuse me, Bentley" I muttered, getting up and walking to the door.

In the hallway along which our bedrooms were located, I noticed that Sly's door was ajar. Peeking inside, I found him standing there, eyes glazed and expression faraway. Then, like snapping out of trance of some sort, he made an attempt to move, but ended up falling over. He got up with haste and darted for the door. I quickly jumped out of the way. I watched him run for a second before realizing that Izzy had run away because of something that he'd done. I stalked after the raccoon and somehow managed to catch him before he too exited the safe house.

"What happened? WHAT DID YOU DO?!" I shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him.

* * *

 **Aaaand same thing from Sly's POV...**

When I felt Izzy's soft lips press against mine, my brains shut down completely and my body just froze. I couldn't comprehend anything. Not her lips, not the panic growing inside her because of my lack of response and not even her beautiful cerulean eyes as they grew glistened with tears. I tried to move, but my body didn't obey like it should have. I jerked away from her by accident and helplessly watched Izzy's broken face and the tears that began falling from her eyes.

And just like that, she was gone. The last thing I heard before the door shut was Isabelle's agonizing, heartbreaking cry as she ran away...

 _"...from me!"_ I realized with a startle, _"I have to go after her!"_

I tried to run after her, but ended up tripping on my own feet and clumsily tumbling on the floor. I jumped up and bolted through the door, planning to follow after Izzy, but before I even reached the front door, I got intercepted by Penelope. She had her arms crossed and the glare I got from her was almost enough to kill.

"What happened? WHAT DID YOU DO?!" She demanded, pointing an accusing finger at me.

She looked ready to murder me if I said the wrong words. I had to think very carefully on how to explain the situation and not have the very angry mouse assault me.

"She kissed me... but I just couldn't respond... I-I don't know what came over me"

"YOU _IDIOT_!" She screamed at me, taking a threatening step forward, "Izzy _loves_ you and she has _finally_ worked up the courage to confess it and what do you do? You _crush_ her heart!"

Each word cut deep in my own heart as I knew every single one of them was true. I had broken Izzy's heart, but I was going to put it back together again. I had to do it.

"I am going to find her and set things right" I assured her before running out after Izzy.

"You better! I'll be waiting here with my molecular disintegrator!" Penelope shouted in very threatening manner.

But I didn't pay any attention to Penelope anymore as I ran blindly into the night.

There was only one thing running through my mind at this point: _"What if something happens to her?"_

 _"What will I do without her...?"_

 _ **Their grief**_ **indeed... Everyone's so sad now... Review and stuff...**

 **P.S. the _molecular disintegrator_ is something I thought about out of nowhere. It's based on something I can't quite remember... Anyways, it's existence is purely for comical reasons and therefore won't be used in any serious situations**

 **P.P.S I hope you caught the _Star Wars_ -reference in this chapter...**


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Their love

 **I don't know why, but when I proofread this chapter, something didn't sit well with the flashback. I can't explain it... something just feels off... It's strange.**

 _Flashback, Clock-La's crashing site_

 _Time: Just before the Hate Chip is destroyed_

 ** _Izzy's POV_**

 _I looked at the Hate Chip with contempt. It was the very manifestation of Clockwerk. The symbol of his misguided goal to destroy the Cooper family. The very core of his soulless machine body. Sly too regarded it with similar emotion. There was this burning in his eyes, the kind that he almost never showed. The cold ire in his gaze didn't surprise me at all. I'd grown used to it and completely understood how he felt._

 _"You need to destroy it" Bentley wheezed from Murray's arms._

 _Sly made a move to grab the chip from Bentley's extended arm, but at the last moment, he hesitated. It was clear that Sly didn't want to lay a hand on the chip. His fingers twitched, so close to grasp the ancient core of Clockwerk, but the struggle was visible on his face._

 _Finally, seeing that Sly couldn't do it, I snatched the Hate Chip from Bentley fingers. Casting it to the ground, I crushed it with one firm stomp of my foot. It crumbled to little pieces. When I turned back to the others and found them staring at me. Murray and Bentley in astonishment and Sly with relief. I just gave them a smile and kicked the remains of the Chip to the river._

 _A sudden voice from the water, where the Clockwerk parts were still scattered, had us turning around and taking a closer look at the metal objects. We watched in awe as they crackled and rusted as if time had finally caught up with them. In only a few seconds, they had completely turned into dust that scattered into the waters._

 _Another voice, again from behind, alerted us and we looked back and witnessed as the very displeased inspector landed her chopper. Once Carmelita stepped out, she strode to us in a brisk pace. Sly curtly told her what had happened and she cursed for being too late._

 _And then... Then, as per her usual habit, Carmelita declared that we were under arrest._

 _I gave her the most annoyed glare I could muster and tried delivering something sassy, but Sly held up a hand._

 _"If I come in peace, will you let them go?" he offered._

 _Everyone, Carmelita included, was surprised by this proposition, but Bentley, Murray and I quickly realized that we didn't have a chance at escaping her this time. Besides, it would be easier to bust Sly out if we were still free..._

 _"Deal" Carmelita said._

 _She beckoned for Sly to come to her, but he raised his hand again._

 _"A minute? Please?" he petitioned._

 _Carmelita's eyes were dripping with suspicion, but she nodded nonetheless. Her trust issues became clear when the shock pistol was raised to point at us again..._

 _But Sly ignored her and turned to Bentley and Murray. He looked at the limp turtle, obviously feeling sorry for him. He must've blamed himself for what had happened._

 _"Thank you, guys" he said quietly, "It's been fun thieving with you"_

 _Murray was in tears as he grabbed Sly to a one-armed, bone crushing hug. For once, no one made a move to stop him and Sly endured the embrace. Once he was released, Sly patted both of them on the shoulder._

 _At last, he faced me and gave a sad smile. I didn't return it. I wasn't happy about this, even if we had no choice. I didn't say anything and that probably gave Sly the impression that_ _I_ had _nothing to say. He turned to leave, but... I wasn't mad at him, only frustrated with his decision._

 _"Sly" I said softly._

 _He looked at me over his shoulder and raised a questioning eyebrow. I tried saying something, but nothing came out. Instead, I ran to him and engulfed him in a hug. He was taken aback by that, I could tell, but allowed his arms to wrap around me._

 _"I'm sorry" I heard him whisper._

 _"It's okay" I sighed._

 _Carmelita, who had been quiet through the whole exchange, (a feat that most definitely took some effort from her) let out an impatient noise. Sly let go of me and pulled away. I glared at her for interrupting us, but Sly was already walking to her with his arms held out. Carmelita looked very victorious when she had secured the cuffs around Sly's wrists._

 _I felt someone tug at my shoulder and looked back to see Murray there. He was gesturing for us to leave before Carmelita called in a pick up for them. I nodded and we made an exit stage left._ _I didn't leave, though. Staying close enough to observe the situation with my Binoc-U-Com, I witnessed as Carmelita was congratulated by her boss for capturing Sly. He on the other hand, was hauled to the helicopter, still handcuffed of course._

 _Suddenly, I got an idea. A terrible idea in my opinion, but I knew Sly would love it. When no one was looking, I snuck behind the chopper where Sly was and as silently as possible, incapacitated the pilot. Leaving him on the ground, I waited for Carmelita to finally climb in with Sly so that I could let them take off. I made sure that the chopper would go around in nice, wide circles. Carmelita was so oblivious that she would notice a thing, especially when Sly was there to be watched... and he would also do everything he absolutely could to woo her._

 _I had no idea why I even bothered to do it. Maybe I just wanted to do something nice for him._

 _..._

 _He had come back sooner than I'd thought. It'd taken Carmelita three hours to figure out they were going around in circles and then she'd stupidly left Sly without guarding, allowing him to paraglide away from the chopper. I so saw Carmelita's enraged face when she yelled the famous "I'll find you, Cooper" into the night._

 _"Izzy?" Sly called, "You wouldn't happen to know what happened to Carmelita's pilot?"_

 _The tone of his voice suggested that he already knew, so I saw no reason to try to cover it up._

 _"I thought you might enjoy spending time with her..." I answered, looking away._

 _He laughed and before I even realized it, Sly was hugging me again, still laughing._

 _"Thanks, Izzy. You're a good friend"_

 _Hearing this, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, so I just relished this moment and shoved the sadness deep down into myself._

* * *

 **Izzy's POV**

Why did I do it? Why had I been so stupid and though that Sly could ever love me? Of course he didn't! Why would he love me?

 _"Stupid!"_

Now everything was ruined. Sly didn't love me and things were too awkward for us to be friends anymore. I couldn't even go back to the safe house because he would be there.

 _"What am I gonna do now?"_

As if on cue to my already terrible mood, it started raining. Not hard at first, but enough for it to be annoying. I was almost too heartbroken to care, but when the rain started to soak through my clothes, I decided to take shelter in the first place I could find.

When running through the city, I came across a little park that had an old gazebo in the middle of it.

What a cliché...

I shook my head. This was like straight out of a romance novel, but I knew Sly wouldn't magically appear and kiss me in the rain and proclaim his undying love for me.

At that harsh realization, I started crying harder and sank against one of the posts of the gazebo. I dropped my face in my hands and bawled my eyes out in the rain...

* * *

 **Sly's POV**

I was frantically looking for Izzy in the rain. I had been only mere minutes behind her, but she was just as fast as me and I had no idea where she had gone. I was running around aimlessly on the Parisian rooftops, hoping to catch a glimpse of her raven hair or spot her tail disappearing around corner.

But I didn't find anything. Not a trace. It was like she'd managed to completely vanish in the short time I'd searched.

Punching a chimney next to the one I was currently perched on, my thoughts returned to the kiss we had shared. I hadn't yet given any thought to it, as odd as it might sound...

 _"I wonder what made her do it?"_

Why had she done it? What reason could she possibly have to kiss me? Then, like a flash of light, Penelope's words returned to me: _"Izzy loves you"_ she had said... or screamed, really.

 _"She did have that look in her eyes... It reminded me of the way I used to look at Carmelita... ... ... But that would mean that it_ was _..."_

Love! It _had_ been love!

 _"But then_ that _would mean that Izzy's really in love... with... me?"_

With that thought, something clicked in my mind, like dots connecting themselves in my head. Starting from long time ago. All of our moments together, her every gesture seemed to gain a new meaning and I finally came to realize why they had felt a little _too_ intimate to be only friendly gestures. How could I have been so oblivious to her feelings all this time? Now, I hated myself for that. It must have been so hard for her. I can only imagine how she'd felt about the amnesia.

 _"She's been in love with me all this time?"_ I continued to think with incredulity.

Izzy loves me! She really loves me!

 _"But do I love her?"_ I asked myself.

After not-so-long contemplation, I smirked to myself, thinking: _"Is that even a question?"_

I lifted my Binoc-u-com to my eyes, contacting the brains of the gang.

"Bentley, I need you to track Izzy for me"

I don't know why this possibility didn't occur to me right away...

* * *

 **Izzy's POV**

I heard footsteps in the rain approaching me. I immediately knew that it was Sly. He did come after all... but I couldn't take that as some sign. He was just worried and had probably asked Bentley to track my earpiece or Binoc-u-com. I should've dropped them somewhere on the way. I would no more need them...

I didn't really care about... anything, anymore. I just wanted hide in some dark corner and be left there to cry my sorrows and mourn my broken heart.

Not wanting Sly to find me, I got up to go. I wanted to leave once and for all, just walk away and not come back.

 _"Ever..."_

But before I could even take a step, my arm was caught in a firm grip and I was spun around to face _him._

Sly was smiling widely for some reason and those brown eyes of his were shining bright. In an instant his hands were on my cheeks, drying my tears away.

But more came...

"Hey, don't cry, my sweet Isabelle" he cooed, rubbing his thumbs across my cheeks.

"WHY!? Why did you-!?" I began shouting, but Sly pinched my lips shut.

"I was just shocked and surprised... Izzy..."

I prepared for the worst. Something like he saying that I was a great friend and he loved me like a sister. That would be it. That would crush the remainder of my broken heart.

"I never knew"

He didn't say anything else. Now, he was just looking me, searching my face for any sign of anything besides sadness and sorrow. I waited for him to do or say something, but when he didn't, I understood that he wanted me to speak. He had released my lips and was clearly waiting for me to say something. I decided to take this one, last chance to see if the world wasn't as unfair as I'd thought.

"Sly, I-I-..." I stuttered incoherently, immediately reprimanding myself for it.

He waited patiently, his eyes still gazing at me. I think he already knew what I tried to say.

"I-I love-" I tried again, but it was getting increasingly harder.

Minutes passed and Sly still didn't do anything but caressed my cheeks in a tender fashion. He did it so gently and caringly, strengthening my resolve and giving me faith for the words I was so desperately trying to choke out. It gave me faith for _us._

"I love you" I finally whispered. It was a very quiet whisper, a mere breath of air, so silent that I wasn't sure if he even heard it. My eyes had closed long time ago and I didn't dare to open them. I didn't want to see another blank face...

Unknown to me, due to my lack of vision, Sly was smiling broadly. I knew without looking that he wanted me to open my eyes, but I couldn't! It was too hard.

"Izzy...?" he voiced, again rubbing his thumbs across my cheeks, "You know, for the longest time, I was thinking about Carmelita and how she is perfect in every way and how I thought I loved her"

OK, where was he going with this?

"But now...now I've seen how horrible she really is... unlike you, _so_ unlike you! You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, Izzy. You're the one person I just couldn't live without. I've always needed you, even when I didn't realize it... Now, I do and I know I want spend the rest of my life with _you_ , Isabelle"

Oh my God! Could he really be saying...?

"Izzy, I love you too"

My eyes _snapped_ open and I stared at him intently. The words were lost for me. I was unable to speak at the moment.

Suddenly, Sly's face morphed into ashamed one and he spoke again.

"I feel like a total idiot. It must have been terrible for you" he looked down in shame, "I'm so sorry"

He was about to continue, but I didn't let him. I'd had enough of waiting! Sly finally said that he loved me and that was all I needed to hear.

Just when he opened his mouth to say something more, I tackled him to the floor of the gazebo and drowned his lips to a kiss into which I poured all my affection, passion and love for him and I made sure it went all the way. He was clearly unprepared for the force the kiss bore, but gave into it soon enough. Allowing his arms to wrap around me, Sly pulled me even closer against him, returning every emotion tenfold.

It was a wondrous and magical moment for us both. It was like _our_ Heaven. The surrounding and the sound of the rain faded away, leaving just me and Sly there, together.

 _"Finally!",_ I thought. Sly finally loved me! He said he loved me more than Carmelita! He said I was the best thing that has ever happened to him! He said he couldn't live without me! Those thoughts sent my mind spiraling out of control even more than before and soon I only acknowledged Sly, his arms holding me against him and his lips on mine, moving in beautiful dance I'd been waiting for so, so long...

This was nothing like the first kiss we shared. This was how _that_ should've been, but I guess neither of us was ready at that point or something... I _really_ didn't care! What I cared about was the fact that I had Sly here, under me and kissing me with so much passion that I just wanted to faint.

Had it not been for the need to breathe, I don't think I would've ever separated myself from the love of my life. As we came to from our euphoria, I fixated my gaze on his eyes, staring into those pools of brown, coloured like molten chocolate

"I love you, Sly Cooper and I refuse to let you go anymore" I proclaimed, all the time smiling the biggest smile ever.

"And I love you too, Isabelle. I promise I will never leave you again" he replied.

I stuck my pinkie out to him.

"Pinkie promise?"

Sly laughed, hard and hearty. He wrapped his pinkie around mine and continued to chuckle. The sound was so elated and lovely. I couldn't help but to laugh with him for a while, until we got ourselves under control.

I smiled down at him and he smiled back.

"Pinkie promise"

"You do realize that you're not allowed to break this promise, right Ringtail? You're now stuck with me for the rest of your life" I asked teasingly.

"A lifetime with you would be like..." he answered, regarding me with half-lidded eyes,"...a dream"

That statement filled me with such joyous happiness that I couldn't help but to smile even wider and brighter than before.

With a smile on my face, I leant down, never letting his little finger slip from mine, and kissed him again and again and again...

 **I've been saving that pinkie promise thing FOREVER and now that I finally got to use it, I feel most accomplished! Yay! And some serious !YAY! for Sly and Izzy finally getting together! Aren't they just adorable? Of course they are!**

 **Also, thanks for everyone who's been helping me with that particular scene. I'm sorry I didn't put any of your suggestions to use here, but I just felt like it didn't need them after all. But seriously, thanks!**


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Their Love part II

 **Yeah, my imagination was unable to come up with better name for the chapter so that's the result. Also this flashback seems off, but try to endure it! Enjoy!**

 _Flashback, Happy Camper's Orphanage_

 _Time: The day Izzy realized she was in love with Sly_

 ** _Izzy's POV  
_**

 _It had been eight years since the day Sly and I met each other. We were nigh inseparable all the time. Ms. Puffin had made a grave mistake trying to make Sly move out from our room. She had called it "a matter of decency", but we had absolutely refused. Of course the ever-cranky headmistress had bartered, bribed and eventually threatened us with all things imaginable. We had listened to everything she had thrown at us, but remained stubbornly in our decision._

 _Finally, I had grabbed Sly's hand and told the old crone that he wasn't going anywhere. Then, I'd quickly dragged him to our room and locked the door. Thanks to Bentley, the lock was slightly modified and Ms. Puffin's keys wouldn't be enough to open it._

 _"Stupid old hag" I spat at the door, not really sure if I wanted her to hear me or not..._

 _"But she's no match for us" Sly pointed out, smirking._

 _I spun around to face him. The grin was in place as usual. Sly had grown up quite a bit and was now almost head taller than me. I intended to catch up with him on that, though. Of course it wasn't really in my power, but who cares?_

 _"Of course not. We're unbeatable together" I smirked at him._

 _Lately with Sly, I'd been having the strangest sensation. It was an odd sense of need or longing for him in particular. I just wanted to be close to him and... touch him. It was awkward at first, but I soon came in terms with it and almost welcomed the feelings._

 _The problem was that I couldn't just randomly go and cuddle up to him and the yearning to do so was driving me crazy. But the thing that drove me crazy the most, was this feeling itself. Where did it come from? Why was I suddenly feeling like this?_

 _Then, on one ordinary day, it struck me like a lightning. I was in love with Sly._

 _When the realization came to me, I dropped the thing I was holding. That in this case being my empty food tray. The noise was followed by an uncomfortable silence and myriad of eyes on me, and also Mrs. Puffin who immediately began screaming something about... something I didn't stay to listen. I bolted out of the lunch room and disappeared for a few hours. I was really just sitting on the roof of the orphanage and I was one hundred percent sure that Sly knew I was here, but he apparently knew to let me have my time._

 _"I'm in love with Sly" I said to myself, "How can I be in love with Sly?"_

 _But when I thought about it, why wouldn't I be in love with him? He was really everything I would've wanted: Kind, handsome (I blushed at that) and above all,_ nothing _like my father!_

 _"I'm in love with him" I repeated, this time much more airily._

 _Alas, however, this moment that would come to be one of the best in my life, was also the first time I faced my hesitations. And those would plague me for many more years to come..._

* * *

 **Izzy's POV**

After countless kisses and "I love you"s exchanged and a prolonged embrace, Sly had suggested that we return to the safe house. It had taken me a moment to remember what he was talking about, having managed to forget that we were still at the gazebo. A silly grin spread across my face.

"But I don't wanna go. I want to stay _right_ here" I squeezed him tighter to emphasize my point, "Besides, it's still raining..."

That was true. The rain was still pounding the little gazebo and I was feeling much warmer in Sly's arms, so it's understandable why I didn't want to run into the cold shower again.

He gave a short laugh and ran his hand down along my back. The action made me shiver in delight and I couldn't help kissing him once more. The kiss, like every other before it, was intoxicating. I didn't want to pull back, but unfortunately the need to breathe forced me to do it eventually.

"I love you so much, Sly" I repeated for the umpteenth time, stroking his cheek, "I feel like I couldn't say it enough..."

"I love you just as much, Izzy _and_ I love to hear you say it" he smiled.

I gazed deep into his brown eyes, wanting to remain like this forever.

"How long have you been in love with me?"

"Huh?" I shook my head, not registering the question.

"How long have you been in love with me?" he repeated.

I sighed.

"Since our teenage years" I confessed quietly.

I heard Sly groan slightly.

"You're making me feel terrible for not noticing"

I laughed a little. He was joking, but there was an undertone that suggested that he was really sorry. I would never blame him for it, though.

"Don't beat yourself up for it"

"You'd think I noticed something at least" he continued to groan, "Why did you never tell me? I mean, you did now, but before...?"

I let out another sigh and averted my eyes from his. They were still so hard to look at...

"I just couldn't work up the courage. I always went through every little 'what if' in my head" while explaining this, I laid my head on the crook of his neck and closed my eyes. Sly didn't reply, I guess he didn't have much to say to that.

"Come on, let's get back. We don't want to sleep here" he suddenly said.

I nodded and most reluctantly detached myself from him. We jumped to our feet and I looked into the rainy night.

"Great. We'll get wet again" I complained.

"Run fast!" Sly called, diving into the rain.

"Hey!" I yelled indignantly, darting after him.

* * *

It didn't take long before we were both in the safe house. Both of us wet, cold and panting.

"You cheated!" I exclaimed, crossing my arms.

"It wasn't a race, Izzy" he smirked, "But had it been, I would've still won"

"Doubt it!"

"COOPER!" (A/N For once this isn't Carmelita...), "ISABELLE BETTER BE WITH YOU OR I'LL REDUCE YOU TO ATOMS!"

(A/N Ok,ok... maybe I'm taking Penelope's behavior a bit too far...)

"WoW! What's gotten her so ticked off?" I wondered out loud.

"She threatened to 'reduce me to atoms' just before I left... Not directly, but that's the picture I got" Sly explained.

"But what exactly did you do?"

"Well, I almost broke your heart..." Sly said quietly, "She wasn't too happy about that..."

"We better go tell her that all is well now, just so she doesn't, ya know, 'reduce you to atoms'" I joked.

Sly let out a nervous laugh, obviously not too thrilled about the prospect. I took his hand and started leading him to where I guessed Penelope was. She was found in the laboratory. On the bench in front of her there was a gun-looking weapon that I guessed was the thing our mouse friend was going to use to atomize Sly.

"We're back, Penelope" I chirped from the door.

She spun around to face us. Her eyes were locked on Sly who took a small step back.

"Come on, you two!" I laughed, "Everything is fine!"

To make my point, I grabbed Sly by his shirt and pulled him to a kiss. I would've preferred to make the kiss a longer one, but I had to explain the situation to Penelope. When I pulled back and turned around, she was looking at me with wide eyes. I looked back and shrugged slightly. Sly's arms wrapped around me from behind and I got the distinct feeling that he was using me as a shield from Penelope who was still watching us intently.

Very slowly, her face broke into a that annoying smile. It didn't bother me that much this time and I returned it. Sly relaxed behind me now that the threat of atomizing had passed.

"So you finally told him"

It was more of a statement than a question, but I nodded nonetheless.

"He took his time" she noted, her eyes narrowing at Sly.

"It's not Sly's fault" I defended him.

To further make my point, I gave him another kiss. It felt so good to know that I could now just do it whenever I wanted.

"And I don't even care... I _love_ him" I whispered the last part.

"And I love you" he whispered back.

* * *

Later, after showering _separately_ and changing to pyjamas, I climbed next to Sly in his bed.

"I guess you're not gonna sleep in your own bed anymore" he stated with a smirk.

"No, I'm not. I'm going to stay with you and fall asleep next to you and wake up with you. I'm gonna kiss you good night and good morning and then cuddle with you and never get up" I declared.

"Do I get a say in the matter" he teased.

"Depends on what you say" I smirked.

"I'm thinking about saying yes" Sly said in pretended thoughtfulness.

"Well, in that case, I guess I'm compelled to at least hear you out"

He chuckled and I hugged him tightly.

* * *

It was well into the night and I was still awake. There was one last fear lurking in the outskirts of my mind, whispering things that I didn't want to hear. I tried to focus on Sly's breathing and feeling how his chest slowly rose and fell, but to no avail. I let out the tiniest sound of annoyance, not even imagining that Sly could wake to that, especially seeing how hard it was to get him out of bed sometimes... However, this time it was different, Sly's breathing returned to normal and in the faint moonlight illuminating the room, I saw his eyes open.

"Are you still awake?" Sly whispered.

"Yeah..." I sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm afraid to fall asleep" I whispered.

"Why?" he asked, pulling away to look into my eyes.

"I fear that I wake up and this all has been just a dream... An incredible, lovely dream, but still just a dream" I explained to him, "Dreams end, always"

He smiled, just smiled. It wasn't the usual smirk he liked to wear. It was only a smile. His hand traveled up to tenderly caress my cheek and I leaned back into him and felt a kiss being pressed in my hair.

"This is a dream, Izzy, an incredible, lovely, wonderful dream, but it doesn't need to end... ever" he whispered, "Let's dream forever"

"I love you"

"And I, you"

 **Review and stuff...**


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Their love III

 **I don't know why, but I again get the feeling that the flashback's a bit off...**

 _Flashback, Paris, hideout_

 _Time: Their earlier thieving years (=Before the first game)_

 ** _Izzy's POV_**

 _I didn't know how I had allowed myself to be talked into this, but somehow Sly had convinced me to watch a horror movie with him during a stormy night. I was half hoping for a blackout just to get out of watching it. I absolutely_ hated _horror movies and Sly knew it._

 _"Ready?" he inquired with a smirk._

 _"Let's just get this over with...", I muttered._

 _I defiantly took my place on the opposite end of the couch, purposely situating myself as far away from him as I could. Sly had earlier teased me, saying that I'd be hugging him in five minutes. I was determined to prove him wrong, even if the odds were rather grim. Taking a look at Sly's confident smirk and sidealong glance at me, I steeled myself for what was to come. I would show him that I could watch the movie no problem! I wouldn't be scared and I certainly wouldn't be hugging him!_

* * *

 _I was scared! Only thirty minutes into the movie and I was already sitting between Sly legs, hugging my tail. He had, by my very grudging request, wrapped his arms around me. I could hear his smug chuckles and if I hadn't been terrified, I would've surely done something about them._

 _A pop-up made me recoil in fear and hide my face in my tail._

 _"Sly! I officially hate you!" I growled, when his laugh reached my ears._

 _"Sure, sure", he replied casually, all the while being infuriatingly unaffected by the movie._

 _I continued growling until the next pop-up had me burying my face in Sly's chest. At least he didn't comment the action anyhow..._

 _"How come a fearless girl like you can be so easily scared by_ a movie _?" Sly asked with another annoying chuckle._

 _"Shut up!" he just didn't know when to quit!_

 _I forced myself to endure the rest of the movie. Engulfed in Sly's arms somewhat helped with it, but I was still sure that there would be no sleeping tonight. I just knew I'd have nightmares._

 _Once the credits started rolling, Sly stretched and let out a mighty yawn. I kinda blushed when I felt his muscles tighten for a second before relaxing again._

 _"We should go to sleep."_

 _"Mhm", I hummed. As if I'd be able to sleep after that movie..._

 _"Come on, I'll tuck you in", he continued, lifting both of us up from the couch._

 _"What? Tuck me in? What?" I demanded, completely dumbstruck._

 _"Yeah, so that you'll get some sleep", Sly explained as if it was the most simple thing ever._

 _Still somewhat dumbfounded, I allowed him to guide me to our shared room. We still shared a room, mostly because our current safe house didn't have enough rooms for the four of us. Sly and I had agreed to share ours. It didn't bother us at all, having practically grown up together._

 _Sly gathered my bed's covers in his hands and gestured for me to lie down. I did so and let him tuck me in in almost brotherly fashion. I felt much better after that._

 _"Sleep well, Izzy", he smiled._

 _I smiled back and wished him good night. I watched him lie down. We hadn't changed our clothes, but they'd go for one night and besides, I didn't want to get up anymore._

 _"Good night, Sly", I wished again as my eyes dropped closed._

* * *

 _I woke up in the middle of the night to a noise. I realized that I hadn't had any nightmares, which was very surprising. The noise that'd woken me up sounded again. I turned my head to see Sly, who looked like he was having a... nightmare? His hands were clutching the sheets and his head jerked violently from side to side in._

 _"Sly", I jumped off of my bed and ran over to his, "Wake up!"_

 _I shook his shoulder, but he had always been hard person to wake up._

 _"Wake up, Sly!"_

 _His eyes snapped open. Second later, his whole body shot up to sitting position. His visage was terror-stricken and he was panting slightly. I gently laid my hand on his shoulder, trying to provide as much comfort as possible. Single tear managed to fall from his eyes before he wiped the rest away._

 _"It was only a dream, Sly", I whispered._

 _"Izzy", he whispered, only now realizing my presence._

 _"Are you alright?"_

 _"Yeah, I'm alright, thanks."_

 _It was quite obvious that he wasn't, but I guess he was too proud to admit it._

 _"Was it a bad nightmare?" I asked quietly._

 _"I don't want to talk about...", he shook his head._

 _"Ok", I squeezed his shoulder reassuringly._

 _I pushed him slightly, hinting that he should lie back down. Sly complied and lowered himself to prone position._

 _"Guess, I get to tuck you in this time", I giggled at him._

 _But Sly didn't laugh. He didn't even smirk. In fact, he blushed and looked away. I was about to tease him just a bit more, but his mouth was open first._

 _"Actually, Izzy, could you... um... sleep with me?" he asked._

 _It was almost_ too _priceless to see the blush on his face intensifying. I almost laughed out loud, but decided to spare him from that. Wordlessly, I sat on his bed and situated myself close to him. Not that there was that much space to begin with._

 _Sly smiled at me thankfully. I smiled back, and before I could stop myself, my hand extended and I ran it through his hair. I remembered my mother doing the same whenever I or my sister had had nightmares. Sly seemed surprised at first, but it soon changed into a content expression. I couldn't bring myself to stop until he had fallen back to sleep and even after that I continued for a bit before withdrawing my hand._

 _"Sleep well, Sly" I whispered and on a whim pressed a light kiss on his forehead._

* * *

 **Izzy's POV**

I woke up feeling better than I ever had. It was almost like I'd been reborn. I felt Sly's arms around me and my first instinct was to squeeze him a bit tighter and press as close to him as possible. I already wanted to tell him I love him.

I knew last night hadn't been a dream. Sly had come after me! He told me he loved me!

I almost squealed with delight, thinking about all those things. My eyes landed on his lips. Would he wake up if I gave him a little kiss?

 _"If I do my best to not wake him...",_ I pondered, while leaning closer, _"It's usually rather hard to get him up anyways..."_

Deciding that Sly wouldn't wake up, I hauled myself upwards and planted my lips on his. The incredible feeling resurfaced from the day before and I realized that all my fears of yesterday had vanished. It wasn't a dream. It was hard to grasp that fact, really. I had lived with the fear of rejection for so long that I'd gotten used to it.

But that was over now. Now Sly and I were in love and that would last forever. I wouldn't let him go again.

 _"He's mine and I'm his",_ I thought happily as our slightly one-sided kiss continued.

At some point, I had no idea when, Sly arms tightened their hold around me and his lips responded to mine.

 _"Whoops...",_ I thought as I pulled away slightly.

Sly was regarding me, sleepily still. His arms disappeared from around me to rub the sleep from his eyes. After that he stretched and yawned, just like he always did when he was tired or had just woken up. I waited patiently, knowing that he'd take his time. His eyes refocused slowly and I smiled at his drowsy face.

"What a lovely sight to wake up to", Sly smirked.

I giggled, like a schoolgirl with a crush, and went to kiss him again.

 _"Oh, how I love him...",_ I thought happily.

"I love you", I whispered after pulling away and laying back down on his chest.

"I love you too", I heard him whisper back.

"I still haven't said it quite enough...", I chuckled.

"Well, we're in no hurry...", Sly smiled.

"Cuddle?" I suggested.

"You got it."

With that, I snuggled deeper into the embrace of the raccoon of my dreams.

"You're adorable when you do that", Sly laughed.

I laughed with him and pressed a kiss to his chest.

"I love being here and doing that", I replied.

"Then do it whenever you feel like it", he said.

"Really?" I asked, raising my head.

"Of course. I like this just as much as you do", Sly emphasized his words with a firm kiss.

 _"Oh, how I love our kisses",_ I thought blissfully.

And that's how our late morning was spent. Lost in total bliss of the extremely prolonged make out session. I just didn't want to get up, knowing that the reality was much harsher than this lovely time spent engulfed in the softness of Sly's embrace. I still couldn't quite fathom the fact that he had said it! He loved me! Now, we could live happily ever after like in the best of fairytales.

I sighed contently when his hand brushed my cheek. His heart thumped slowly and evenly next to my ear. The sound was enthralling and it almost lulled me back to sleep. He pressed his lips on my hair and I raised my head to catch him before he dropped his head back on the pillow.

Yet another kiss showing our love was exchanged and I laid back onto his chest. His hand ran through my hair and tucked it away from my face. He revealed my marred eye. I lifted my head again and frowned at him. He knew I didn't like to show it to anyone, not even him.

But Sly just watched me and smiled, not in the least bothered by the mark.

"I love you, Isabelle", he said, "All of you."

He gently ran his thumb along the mark. I closed my eyes and let it be. Sly wouldn't mind. He loved me and I loved him.

"I love you too", I whispered softly.

* * *

 **Let's actually have a "normal" POV for once**

"Should we go wake them?" Bentley asked, "It's 12 o'clock."

"Let's let them be", Penelope said quickly, "I rather doubt they're sleeping anymore. More likely just feeling lazy and in love", she smiled happily.

"I still can't understand how they managed pull it off", Bentley said, "To be in love for almost ten years and not get anywhere."

"I don't get it either", Penelope huffed, "They're both unbelievable! At least they're together now."

"Well, in any case, if they don't get down here soon there's not gonna be any breakfast left", Bentley stated, casting a glance at Murray who was eyeing the last pile of pancakes with a lustful of expression, ignoring everything else happening around him.

"Some friends we have", someone called from the kitchen door, "Not even waiting for us to eat breakfast with them."

"I know! Inexcusable, isn't it?" another, more feminine voice answered.

Everyone's, even Murray's, heads turned to look at the two raccoons who'd just now emerged in the kitchen.

"By breakfast I assume you mean lunch", Bentley quipped, "It's not even morning anymore."

"Hey! We're heavy sleepers!" Sly exclaimed indignantly.

"You are!" Isabelle said along with everyone else at the table.

Sly just looked taken aback for a moment until Isabelle pressed a quick kiss on his lips and pulled him with her to the table.

"Ooh, pancakes!" she squealed in a merry manner.

Murray looked slightly disappointed that he didn't get his umpteenth plate of pancakes, but recovered quickly and went to watch the TV. (A/N I never know what to write Murray say, so he's always quiet in the sidelines...)

After a nourishing meal of pancakes covered in syrup, everyone joined Murray in front of the TV. Sly sat down in the armchair and Isabelle situated herself on his lap. Penelope on the other hand sat down on the couch and Bentley wheeled next to her.

And so their day passed in lazyness, except for Bentley and Penelope of course, who worked tirelessly to concoct a plan to repossess Sly's cane. The plan was forming, but was still in need of finetuning and working on the timings. It would be an operation performed with finesse.

Isabelle also had her own plans concerning a certain inspector. It was time she learned that Sly was forever out of her reach.

 _"Love is such a selfish feeling..."_ she thought, still in Sly's arms, unwilling to ever leave them.

 **This story hasn't received that many reviews as of late. Apparently most of the people reading Sly fanfics prefer Sly X Carm pairing... It's a shame really. I quite like OCs as well as Sly X Neyla, but I have nothing against Carmelita either.**

 **Review people.**

 **P.S. Who has played Kingdom Hearts III? What a great game don't ya think?**


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